In the Service of Liars and Killers
by Mildred Josephine
Summary: When Loki appears in Midgard to take it over, he manages to 'recruit' a certain taser-toting brunette. He gets more than he bargained for, as brainwashing Darcy Lewis could never turn out as planned. Loki/Darcy
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

_"You'll want to take the girl," Erik Selvig said. _

_Darcy's rather speedy assessment indicated that there were approximately two women in the facility currently under attack by a strange, bedraggled, bulletproof, psycho-beast of a man shooting lasers or something at them with a wicked looking spear. That gave her a fifty-fifty chance Erik was not talking about her. Considering Agent Hill, other mentioned woman at said facility, was outside and nowhere in sight, she would say that narrowed her odds a tiny bit. When said psycho-beast of a man turned to look at her, she froze in place as his eyes narrowed slightly, sizing her up. As if she was not already having trouble getting enough oxygen as she watched a half a dozen SHIELD agents being killed or injured within moments, what little air she was taking in caught in her throat at his gaze. Loki, he had said. Thor's brother. Giant-metal-robot-of-death-sendy guy. She had a feeling her week was about to go downhill. Still, she gave a hopeful look over both her shoulders for some other possible target he had in mind. No dice._

_She knew she should have seen this coming. She was the one who switched her major to computer programming. She was the one who decided to come work for SHIELD. She had accepted a while ago that she may or may not die as a casualty of some global security threat. It just came with the job. When a deity, let alone two, comes barreling into your life, it kind of changes most life plans of the whole get a job, get married, and settle down and have kids and die of old age thing. At least it only appeared that he wanted to brainwash her like he had just done to Selvig and Barton with what she could only imagine was the world's most epic glowstick. That had to be a step up, right?_

_"Worry not, child," Loki said to the short brunette with two braids running down over her shoulders as he closed in on her. His voice was surprisingly gentle, which somehow made him more terrifying. Her wide blue eyes watched him carefully, every muscle taught in anticipation of what he would do. "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you all accept that, in your heart, you will know peace." He slowly lifted his scepter to her chest._

_"Okay! Well, while I'm working on all that accepting, could you try not to rip the shirt? It's kind of my favorite," she said nervously. Typical Lewis style. Scared to death and out come the words. Darcy could feel every bone in her body trembling as the man tilted his head to the side, staring at her wide-eyed and terrified expression moments before he gently pressed the scepter to her breastbone, causing her gasp. "Oof! That's a little cold," she said, trailing off as her eyes, and world, glazed over for a moment. She could have sworn just before her mind officially left her that he looked amused. When she came back, she could hear Director Fury exchanging words with her new captor._

_"The portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got two minutes before this goes critical," she heard Selvig say. Without thought, Darcy pulled the taser from her side, firing it at Director Fury. The guilt at such an action that would have occurred was completely absent as her boss collapsed to the floor. She did not see the rather surprised look from her new boss as she went to pick up the silver suitcase, handing it to Dr. Selvig. Quickly, the four of them made their way out of the building to the back exit, Barton leading and Darcy trailing behind._

_"We need these vehicles," Barton said easily as they entered the facilities' garage. Agent Hill met them on the ramp, a confused look on her face. Darcy Lewis, their junior level programmer who was there to assist Selvig, was following them. The girl rarely left her computer. That was nothing compared to the strangely clothed man she had never even seen enter the building._

_"Who's that?" Agent Hill asked._

_"Your mom," Darcy responded curtly, hopping into the bed of the vehicle next to Loki as Barton and Selvig sat in the front. Agent Hill rolled her eyes, still unaccustomed to the girl's sarcasm in her normally stoic work environment. "There are no seat belts back here!" Darcy said. She was about to get out and try to squeeze into the cab when Barton took off, throwing her forward. She felt a hand grasp her shirt, pulling her back to land on her back in the bed rather than having her fly out of the vehicle. Well, at least Loki kept his investments in order._

_Of course, the sound of gunshots was never a good thing as they sped further away from the facility. She didn't need anyone telling her to drop into the fetal position until it was all over. From her place lying down, she tried to remain stable as Barton jerked the vehicle from one side to the other. She wasn't afraid. The constant lull now in her mind told her not to be afraid, and she was to obey. There was only the will to obey her new master. The only thing she could see was Loki, screaming with rage as he shot down their pursuers like the dark angel of chaos that he was. She was mesmerized._


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

_She was an amusing sort of pet, he supposed._

_The scientist he had taken over to work on his portal had suggested Loki take her with him. Looking at her she certainly didn't look to be of use to him. Between her glasses and twin braids, she looked like she belonged in a school room, not a science laboratory. The only indications she was not, in fact, a child were the rather impressive curves under her juvenile attire. In the mental link he shared with all of those under his thrall, he could discern from Selvig's that she had been useful in the field of computers and would aid him in their preparations._

_He also had not been able to help thinking there was something strangely familiar about her, although he couldn't quite place it at first. When he touched his mind with hers, it was clear. She was the little flibbertigibbet who had been in the company of his brother during his exile and the other little mortal that caught his attention. He had seen her when he had visited Midgard to lie to his brother about their fath- Odin's death. It was terribly convenient seeing her here, of all places, although not entirely surprising. This was the organization who had investigated Thor's appearance in Midgard. His brother could rest easy knowing one of his precious little mortal friends had aided him, when the time came. More salt to rub into the wound he was about to open._

_He hadn't thought much of what his thralls would be like: their obedience was all he required. Whether or not they would retain their personalities or became empty shells was of little consequence to him. The scientist was bland and the assassin was taciturn, both qualities which suited him just fine._

_Not her though. In the two days since they had started working, the girl never seemed to close that seemingly bottomless pit of sarcastic comments she called a mouth. He felt he walked a line daily between humoring her and killing her for insolence. The first sign of trouble should have been her request that he not damage her clothing just before he claimed her mind. A bold little thing, he would give her that. He made her nervous, which pleased him, although her nervousness was what normally produced her excessive commentary. But also, as he watched her assist the scientist in his work, he could feel her eyes on him. He could feel the fascination she had for him as plainly as he could see the nose on her face. And there, in the darkest part of her mind, he could see the tiny glimmer of infatuation. How amusing. He certainly did not put that there. He supposed there were certain benefits to female subordinates. They were so much more productive when they were anxious to please an object of desire. As pathetic of a being as she was, this human, he supposed it was nice to be admired from a distance. It was an easy enough feat among mortals, but still satisfying. Soon, he would expect it of her whole race._

_Loki watched as she focused quite intently on a display of several monitors. She was not assisting the doctor, which was unusual. He found himself curious as to what she was doing. She remained oblivious to him, as she had those devices in her ears that blocked out most noise except whatever music she was listening to in those things. He watched as she rocked back and forth from foot to foot, bobbing her head from side to side to a perceivable rhythm._

_Such a strange, oblivious creature._

_"You are not assisting the scientist?" he asked, allowing his voice to enter her mind. She turned, eyes widening at seeing him there, as always._

_"He's trying to figure out how to make anti-protons, or something, whatever that is," she said. "Not really a computer thing."_

_"Then what is this?" he asked, looking at the display. She looked almost bashful._

_"I-it's something I was working on in the meantime," she said cautiously. "SHIELD will try to fight you, of course. I'm setting up a way to observe what they are doing. All of their facilities are monitored with cameras." Loki looked appreciatively at the the images showing up on the screens. Various laboratories and meeting rooms. "If you know how to get on their network, which I do, it is quite easy to stream the feed here."_

_"What have you found?" he asked, surprisingly impressed._

_"They are assembling a team," she said. "All these weird people I've been hearing about since I've worked there... Fury is trying to get them together to fight you." Loki turned to her._

_"You know who they are?" he asked. He knew she did, even before she nodded._

_"Just a little, from what I've heard, so far. I know they found Steve Rogers, some frozen science experiment from the forties, but I wasn't supposed to hear about that. Everyone knows about Tony Stark and his ass-kicking suit. And then there's Banner." She turned, pointing to him on the screen. He was talking to a red-headed woman. "Selvig told me he was a brilliant researcher in gamma radiation until his experiment went wrong. Now he can turn into a big, green, rage monster if you look at him funny. Never a good time. I'm not supposed to know about that either." Loki turned to her, surprised to feel a smirk creeping over his features._

_"How is it you know all these thing which you are not supposed to know?" he asked. She shrugged._

_"You'd be surprised what curiosity and computer skills can get you," she said. He finally allowed himself a small smile, allowing her to see his pleasure._

_"Well done, Miss Lewis," he said, turning back to her screens. "Impressive." The absolute radiance at which she beamed was equally impressive. "So, they have invited a monster into their midst. That does not sound very wise."_

_"They probably hope they can use him as some kind of weapon," she replied. "But if he went all rage-y on their helicarrier, it would be bad news. For them, anyway."_

* * *

_He would admit she had her uses._

_Also her drawbacks._

_She complained that his facility lacked ice cream or coffee, taking it upon herself to explain the necessity of both, suggesting they be considered national staples when he upgraded from prince to king, as she put it. She had tried her best to explain her desire for a mountain of ice cream as she had once seen on something called Rugrats, whatever that was. Thankfully, she usually lost herself in her own musings and did not require any input from him. He was surprised he had been able to make it through the past two weeks listening to her nonsense. She was also nosey. She watched everything, including him, with eyes that seemed to take in and digest everything she saw. While that particular trait served him well in plotting against SHIELD, her intrusion also spread to wanting to know what he was doing when she had nothing with which to occupy herself._

_Her infatuation, however, continued to grow which each passing day, which he found gratifying. It was hard, even for him, not to sympathize with what was the equivalent of a loyal puppy in the (rather nice, he'd admit) body of a grown woman. His praise was met with adoration. It was a pleasant relationship they had formed._

_"Have you found the location of iridium yet?" he asked, coming up behind her. She turned to see him, a smirk gracing her features._

_"I thought you would have a challenge for me," she said smugly, showing him her computer screen. "Some millionaire in Germany has it. He's actually about to have a party ripe for the crashing. Plenty of cameras should be present." He was convinced she could not have looked more pleased if she tried. He found himself smiling back at her. She had spent the past two weeks, studying his actions. It was pleasant that she knew what he wanted. It was at that point the Selvig came up, raving about all that the Cube had shown him. Loki was surprised that he was actually disappointed that they had been interrupted._

_"It is amazing," Loki said, turning to Barton who had approached._

_"This is our next target, then," the archer said. "We will need a distraction. And probably an eyeball."_

_"An eyeball?" Darcy said, her upper lip forming into a squeamish curl. The archer looked at her._

_"This place you found," he said. "Security systems that sophisticated usually use ocular recognition. The owner will have it."_

_"Very well," Loki said. "It will not be a problem to walk in and take it. I believe that will satisfy both requirements."_

_"You know," Darcy started, losing traction with all three of them staring at her, "you could probably, you know, just, false a recognition signal with a little bit more time. You wouldn't need to go... removing organs or anything." She was met with silence from all of them. "Unless, of course you are trying to scare the crap out of everyone," she said with a squeamish face, crossing her arms defensively. "I guess you could... go with the eyeball thing."_

_Barton gave her a somewhat disbelieving look as they both left, making their preparations. While Loki did desire to put the fear of god, namely him, into the mortals at Germany, he did appreciate the ease at which Darcy came up with alternative methods. She always tried to avoid violence. It was interesting that it was important to her, even under his thrall._

_"I must say, you have certainly made yourself useful," Loki commented. She smiled, genuinely pleased._

_"As always, my prince," she said smiling, bowing dramatically, a smile on her face. He felt if anyone else said and did that, he would have thought him mocking and would have probably made quick work of his death. Darcy, however, had the uncanny ability to walk the fine line between sincerity and joviality._

_"That's a good girl," he said. "I believe that deserves a treat, then. It is not quite a mountain, but I shall endeavor to try harder." With a wave of his hand he produced a small, cold carton. Her glazed over eyes still managed to light up with a childish gasp as she beamed at him._

_"Cherry Garcia! How did you know it was my favorite?" she said excitedly as she returned to her work, ice cream in hand. He watched the back of her head as she did so, blissfully unaware of his scrutiny._


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"Are you ever going to not fall for that?" Loki asked of his brother. Thor had experienced the wrong end of the sorcerer's abilities for centuries. The trickster god thought he would have learned to at least do a double take before charging into a prison cell. Thor gave him a betrayed look, even having the audacity to seem surprised.

"The bay has been unlocked. We have a craft just outside. We should get moving before they see it." Thor watched as Darcy appeared at Loki's side, standing slightly behind him. She had clearly been the one to free him from the holding cell. Loki chanced another look at his brother, delighting in the agony at seeing Darcy under his command written on his face.

"Darcy," Thor almost whispered. The god of thunder watched as the girl's eyes turned to him, looking as if she was trying to place him. How he ached seeing her like this. She had such a strong will and pure heart, but was now a puppet to his brother's madness.

"Thor," she finally said pleasantly. "You look less homeless than last time." She gave his cell a once over as if to emphasize her point. This drew a smile from the green-clad demi-god standing in front of her.

"A treasure, is she not? So very useful for a mortal." he said, his eyes fixed on his brother. No one in the room, including Loki himself, knew if his comment was sincere as he walked passed Darcy to the controls of the cage. "Of course that would imply that we are immortal, would it not? The humans like to think so. Should we test that theory?"

Darcy let out a soft, but still audible, gasp when she realized what he meant to do. Loki, surprisingly to all parties in the room, gave pause when he heard it. He narrowed his eyes at her, straightening up from the controls. His smile was dangerous. It scared her. "Does this displease you, Miss Lewis?"

Darcy looked confused. She was confused. She felt loyal to Loki. She would do his bidding at any cost; but something at the back of her mind did not sit well with killing the trapped Asgardian.

"It... isn't necessary that he die," she said quietly and carefully, her eyes cast to the floor, "to do your thing. He can't do much about it now. We could leave before he got out." He approached her slowly, reminding her of a panther stalking a prairie rabbit. Not that she was likely see a panther on a prairie. Now was not the time to get lost in thought.

"Loki," Thor warned uselessly. The dark-haired god tossed his brother a glance, but ignored his unspoken threat.

"You wish me to spare him, my little minion?" he asked in a sickeningly saccharine voice. She had grown used to the term as a strange sort of endearment he used. It now frightened her. Her bottom lip trembled. She felt every bit the ant to which he compared her when they first met, and she could feel the boot coming down.

"He is your brother," she said even more quietly. "You might regret it. Later." She managed to meet his eyes. He could see that behind the blue film showing his power over her, natural blue was beginning to break through. His control was waning. A mere touch of his staff would set her straight.

In the moment, however, he stayed his staff, not entirely sure of his reasoning.

"Might I?" he said with a casual laugh, turning to his brother. "I see why you are so intrigued with these creatures, brother. Look at this little one." His gaze fell back onto the girl before him, humor in his voice. She stiffened, raising her chin and crossing her arms over her chest. She always seemed to find her courage when anticipating an insult, he noticed. How adorable. "I could crack her neck with a thought, and she stands here, questioning me." Thor couldn't believe the scene before him. While his words toward Darcy were menacing, his eyes seemed almost... playful. A horrible sense of sadness washed over him. He had always been that way once. Before the lies and betrayal, Thor's own arrogance wounded them both so deeply, it seemed as if they could never go back to the way things were. Yet here he was, toying with the girl he considered a friend with a mixture of his past joy and newfound malice. There was so much about his brother he would never understand, but there was fondness in his eyes as he looked at her.

"I tend to question most things that are unreasonable," she retorted as Loki casually walked back to the controls. "Are we going to keep standing here while this tub crumbles around us so you guys can measure your-"

She was cut off by a thud coming from the back of her head. It was Agent Coulson.

"Stop right there, please," he said. Loki turned to see Darcy unconscious on the floor and looked back up to the agent, his green eyes alight with fury. The human began mumbling something about the power of the weapon he held while Loki was only interested in throwing himself into a double behind him. He had been in the middle of threatening Darcy properly. He would not tolerate interruptions. He managed to project himself behind the agent, his spear in hand. Thor roared as he plunged the spear into Coulson's back, pulling it out quickly. The agent fell to the floor, life quickly draining from his body. Loki paused for a moment, looking down at Darcy's unconscious form next to the now dead agent. Something in the back of his mind told him that Darcy would have disapproved, not that it mattered. Still, he had grown accustomed to her non-violent suggestions in his ear, ignored as they were. The silly girl was getting into his head.

"Good help is hard to come by," Loki complained boredly to his brother, completely unconcerned with his brother's rage at the death of the man. The hint of mirth that had been in Loki's eyes was gone. Thor wanted to tear his brother to pieces and weep at the same time. He watched as Loki leaned down and carefully picked up the now unconscious Darcy. Thor, in his anger, could scarcely grasp the tenderness with which he held her after so gruesome a display. "What she doesn't know won't hurt, now will it?"

Loki said as he walked back over to the pad that would drop his brother 30,000 feet to the ground. He paused, looking down at the girl in his arms. "I must say, you may color me intrigued. You were down here a mere week before you found yourself besotted with a human woman. Perhaps I should see if there is something to it when she wakes, no? You should see some of the looks she gives. I doubt she would object. Was your Miss Foster so obviously taken with you upon meeting? I can see why one would indulge one's self, if she looks anything like this one." Thor stood completely straight, glaring dangerously as he understood the implications of his words.

"Loki," Thor said dangerously. "You can still put an end to this villainy. Darcy is not even in her right mind. Anything she does is not of her own will. I swear to you, brother, I will make you rue the day Odin found you in that temple if you-" Loki laughed heartily, interrupting his brother's threats.

"That day has already come and gone, I assure you, Odinson," he said, venom in his last word. "Besides, I did not put her little infatuation in her mind. I do not see what the difference would be. Besides, did you not accuse me of thinking them beneath me? It seems only appropriate to experiment with a more literal interpretation." With that, he kicked the release, dropping his brother from the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

The first thing Darcy realized when she woke was that the back of her head was killing her. She felt the base of her head to feel a slight lump that hurt to touch. She imagined it looked like a potato, but it was just slightly raised. The second thing she realized was that whatever mind mojo Loki had on her was officially lifted. It had been slowly coming apart for a while, even when she couldn't tell it was for sure. Her blind obedience had turned into what seemed like a habit she was unable to kick. When it had occurred to her that he meant to kill Thor, she hadn't even recognized she was voicing her own opinion until it was too late. Until then, she had not even had her own opinion.

She had blacked out (presumably from a blow to the head by an unnamed party) and then had woken up in the carrier, to find Loki holding her. The familiarity of her own mind had returned to her just long enough for her to feel him place a cool hand on the side of her face, a strange feeling warming her cheek as lethargy immediately followed. The feel of the zipper of his coat and the distinct smell of leather was the last thing she remembered as she slipped back into unconsciousness, but the constant intrusion of Loki's mind into hers was gone.

She managed to raise herself up, her headache becoming worse, a thousand and two questions buzzing in her head. Gently holding her hand on the back of her head, she hoped the heat of her hand would soothe it. It didn't. Why hadn't he magicked her again? What was his play with letting her have her own mind again? Had she done everything he needed and she was no longer required? Why was she still alive? Why hadn't he just left her on the SHIELD ship? Had he taken her only to wake her up to kill her? She felt like she had done a pretty decent job under his... employ, so to speak. Surely she qualified for a decent severance package like a quick and relatively painless death.

She began examining the room she was in. She was definitely in the back of the facility in which they had been working for the past few weeks, but she didn't recognize the exact room. Her sleeping quarters had been a bunk room with a few other scientists. This room was slightly bigger with only one bed. A desk was in the corner. There were papers in other languages she didn't recognize. There were also notes in her handwriting she recognized. She had given them to Loki. Where the hell was she? Was this where he slept? Or didn't sleep, rather. She tested the door, knowing it would be locked, which it was. It certainly didn't help that she was an almost friend of Thor's. She would probably end up gutted, hanging from Stark Tower. God, how close must he be to opening the portal? She, of course, never asked any questions, but she had heard Erik talking to him about it. They were close.

She sat back down on the bed, resting her elbows on her knees, one hand holding the back of her head, the other holding the front. The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up, gooseflesh forming on her shoulders. She sighed.

"I don't suppose you have any aspirin handy?" she asked, not looking up from the floor. She felt him sit next to her on the bed, placing a hand next to hers on the back of her head. She stiffened, inhaling sharply. Breaking her neck should be quick enough. Instead, however, she felt a combination of cool and warmth leave his fingers and absorb into the back of her head. Against every better judgement she had, she sighed and leaned into it just a bit. It just felt too good.

"That's nice, too," she said absently.

"I aim to please," he said, removing his hand. The sensation continued, even spreading to her neck and shoulders. A dry laugh caught in her throat.

"There's a switch," she said, still not looking at him. If she looked at him, she would have to face whatever it was he had planned for her. She hadn't expected him to fix her head, even if he didn't know about her 'waking up,' which she knew he did. She could no longer feel him prying into her thought as he had those past several weeks. Must have been part of the mind control thing. There had been a lot of things she hadn't expected, and holding back questions had also never been one of her talents.

"Why didn't you use your control-y stick on me?" She finally lifted her head to meet his eyes. They weren't the cold ice chips they normally were. He seemed... warm. Inviting. His entire demeanor seemed different. She furrowed her brow even more intensely. "And why are you being weird?" He... laughed? Not the mocking kind, either. Her eyes continued to widen worriedly. "Has someone control-y sticked you?"

"You have done your job well, my little minion," he said. "Your work is finished. The Tesseract is being moved to its final location. It won't be long now." The weight of his words hit her like a Mack truck as she stood, a tear slipping from her eye. She could no longer pretend this was a game she was playing as she had when she was under his spell. He intended to subjugate her entire race into slavery, herself included.

"Are you going to kill me then?" she asked. "This is a strange way to go about it."

"Why would I kill you, Darcy?" he replied soberly. She didn't like the way he said her name. It was too familiar. It sounded too natural. It only reminded her that they had been working together for weeks. She felt as if they were both strangers and friends -a question mark on the 'friends'- at the same time.

"There's no predicting anything you do. If you don't need me anymore, why am I here?" She still had her back to him. She heard him stand and approach her, slowly.

"There would be no reason to kill you. You are easy enough to contain. I can easily keep you from causing too much trouble." She scoffed.

"And I thought I couldn't feel any worse about myself that I did five minutes ago." He ignored the comment.

"Once it is over, and my power is established in your world, I see no reason why you could not continue your life, probably even in my service. I will still have use of you."

"You would have had an easier time if you used your control-y stick," she said, "if that is really all you want."

"Ever the observant one are you not?" he questioned. She shrugged. Her back was still to him, but she could feel him coming closer. "For one, it is a Mind Gem, not a 'control-y stick,'" he said matter-of-factly. "Secondly, I see no reason to use it if you are willing to cooperate without it. I wanted to test the waters before I subjected you to it again."

"Test the waters for what?" she asked.

"I will admit that I have grown rather fond of you in these past few weeks. You are tolerable, for a human. I daresay you can even be clever and appealing when you manage to make sense. There are... certain things... for which I would prefer you to have your own mind." Her eyebrows came together once again in confusion. When she felt his fingers gather at the bottom curls of her hair, she understood his full meaning. Eyes wide and incredulous, she whipped around to face his stupid, smirking, handsome face.

"Are you seriously trying to seduce me days before you try to take over my planet?"

"You would have preferred earlier, then?" he asked. "How sad I did not think of it sooner. Well, I can't say I did not think of it..." For a moment Darcy quite resembled a goldfish. "There is no need to be bashful. I have seen the way you look at me. And it had nothing to do with my power over you." Darcy was at boiling point, eyes narrowing. He wasn't wrong of course. She had hoped the teeny, tiny crush she had been nursing had been a by-product of both mind control and being a woman with eyes. Looking at him now, she knew a bump on the head wasn't the cure. Only a really hard wake up call could do that.

"You know, I _might_ have found you on the gelato side of the delicious scale at one point in some emotional death wish sort of way. But, you know, us ant girls tend to go for dinner and conversation, not world domination and mind rape. That's our type." The more amused he seemed by her outburst, the angrier, and louder, she became. Plus the talking with the hands got worse. Even in the face of potential death, her temper was reigning dangerously close to unchecked. "Not to mention, in the sack I would prefer to be the only one you were trying to screw, thank you. I'm sure the fact that I was a friend of your brother, who may or may not be alive, has nothing to do with your sudden curiosity to go slumming here on Earth. Have you made it a competition of sorts, in your head? He kissed a mortal, so you have to one-up him and nail one? You'll have to excuse me, thanks but no thanks." Her self-awareness -and preservation, for that matter- was waning as she began pacing around the room and Loki's eyes seemed to catch fire at her words. It was his turn to stare at her incredulously. "That's right. No one can even mention Big Brother Thor without you getting all pissy. The one person who truly loves you, in spite of everything you've done, is the the one person you hate most in the entire universe... literally. Let's face it, Midgard is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The Tesseract has more power in it than our entire world has in it combined. And you are giving it up to rule over us? A species with an, on average, eighty year expiration date? All because we happened to be Thor's favorite little planet."

The God of Mischief had lost all of the pleasantness from his eyes that she had seen before. It was a shame. It had been very nice. But it had been fake, just like everything about him seemed to be. The only thing that wasn't fake was the very real hand wrapping around her throat. She closed her eyes, waiting for pain. It didn't come. He didn't squeeze. He just stood there, his long fingers wrapped around her neck. She felt two tears slide down each of her cheeks before she opened her eyes again. Loki was staring at her strangely. She felt he might tear her to pieces with his eyes alone, he looked so angry. But he didn't hurt her.

"I have killed people much smarter and more powerful than you, my little minion. For reasons unknown to me, I am compelled to spare your small existence, even after such a display of insubordination. Why should that be?"

"Is this multiple choice? If I have any lifelines, I'd like to phone a friend, please." Loki tilted his head in bewilderment, finding himself unable to understand her once again. The girl spoke so much nonsense, and yet was more forthcoming than any person he had ever met, both now and under his compulsion. She was so unlike him: there was no deceit and nothing was hidden. She said what she thought without weighing the consequences first. She wore her fascination with him as openly as her fear. She was too honest for his liking, but all the same this quality, time and again, stayed his hand from harming her.

"My brother has robbed me of my destiny my entire life," he said slowly, loosening the weak hold he had on her throat. His movement turned into him tracing her jawline with his index finger. She shivered. Whether it was from fear or not, neither of them knew. "Why should I not take away everything he holds dear? Whether it be his little love bird or her little sidekick."

"And you'll still only be a villain for him to fight," she said through gritted teeth. He stilled his hand, backing away from her. He looked as if he had been burned. "Even if you do get your aliens over here, and you do take over the world, Brain style, how long will you be able to keep it up? You'll have nine billion people hating you. When you give up your little mojo box, what's going to be left? Except you hating your brother... who will probably still be defending you from here back to Asgard. You can't take what you want by force."

"And what is it you think I want, my little fool, that I cannot take?" he sneered.

"To be accepted," she said, less harshly this time, as if she was also telling herself. "Whether it's by a world full of gods or humans."

His eyes hardened once again, just before he disappeared before her eyes. She sighed heavily. More tears fell from her eyes, and her chest was heaving to catch her breath as she sat back down on the bed. One more encounter with Loki, and she was still alive. The man/alien/god had her going everywhere at once. He had healed her, threatened her, and attempted to seduce her, all within ten minutes. What was she supposed to do with that?

She tested the door again without knowing why. It opened.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

She didn't know why the door was open. She didn't know why no one stopped her as she fled the facility. She just ran. Thank god Natasha had made it a habit of kicking her butt about working out instead of sitting at a computer all day. She wouldn't have been able to make it down the hallway the previous year. She just ran, with tears in her eyes and a sinking feeling in her stomach. No one stopped her. They just continued with their work. She was tired of being afraid. Of anticipating her death. She supposed she could only expect to die for so long before it just stopped mattering. She briefly wondered if 'mattering' was a word. She ran until her lungs felt like they were burning from the inside. Out the door, down the street. It looked like they had been in some kind of abandoned office building. She took note of the address, but knew it would be useless. Loki would be gone before she could get SHIELD back there. She didn't know why in the world he was letting her go. She wanted to question it from every angle, but she couldn't just then. She just wanted to be home. She wanted to see someone she recognized without blue film over their eyes. She wanted to change into her own clothes. She wanted to drown herself in her iPod. (Crap, she had left it back there.) She wanted to do a lot of frivolous things that she would normally be doing if the world wasn't ending. She cursed herself for not looking for Clint, or her iPod, before she tucked tail and ran, not that there was much she could have done if he was still under Loki's control. Maybe if Loki had been in some kind of strangely charitable mood, he could do without a computer hacker, but probably not Bird Boy. Barton hated that nickname.

Taking a taxi ride home was surreal. The cabbie probably didn't know what to do with the crying female in his backseat, but she imagined he had seen worse. She had to go up to her home to get cash to pay him, since she had no idea where her wallet was. It was so strange to do something so mundane after the previous weeks. She had no idea what to do. She had no idea if Loki had done something to her that would make her dangerous to SHIELD. She didn't know if he would have her followed. She didn't care. She had to get a hold of Fury. If she could just see Fury, everything would be okay. Fury, good or bad, always knew what to do.

Since she didn't have her cell phone she had to use her computer to call him. Logging on to her computer officially felt like coming home. She was still crying, dammit. It felt like she would never stop. Still waiting for her computer to load up, she went to her kitchen to dig for food. Stress eating was one of the many flaws she had yet to break since college. Keeping in mind she had been gone for a few weeks, she went for the freezer first. The first thing she saw staring back at her was a pint of Cherry Garcia.

_That's a good girl. I believe that deserves a treat._

She grabbed the hapless ice cream and threw it across her small dining room, knocking the cheap picture of a bowl of fruit off the wall. The crash was satisfying. Collapsing to the floor and resuming her crying jag was not. Damn that man. Asgardian. Whatever he was. She could still hear his voice in her head. Weeks worth of him speaking to her. Like they were friends, and she had no choice in the matter. So many intimate secrets she told him against her will. So many moments stolen. She felt violated. The fact that he probably just asked her questions to humiliate her in some awful way didn't help matters.

_"Helping the God of Mischief take over the world Darcy? Whatever would your parents think?"_

_"I don't have parents."_

_"I know."_

The thought of their last conversation brought on even more tears. The idea of Loki, Thor's devious and supervillain little bro, trying to get into her pants was a little too weird for her to handle. Who does that? Why had he waited until she had her own mind? He could have so easily... She shuddered, unable to finish the thought. That told her one of two things. One, he thought it would be more of an insult to Thor and SHIELD if she had done it willingly, or two, there was some teeny tiny semblance of decency in him somewhere so that he wouldn't have actually raped her. She liked to think it was the latter. "Killer" she could apparently handle though? So many years of therapy would be necessary. Many. Freaking years of therapy. She suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. She tried her best to wipe her face before she called Nick. She knew her nose would be clogged.

"Yes?" She knew he was wary of numbers he didn't know to his personal phone.

"Director Fury?" A pause.

_"Lewis?"_

"Yeah... It's me. Like, for real. I think. Pretty sure... Someone hit me pretty hard when we were on board. I think it knocked his hold loose or something. Loki didn't re-stickify me." There was a long silence.

_"I assume you are going to tell me that you don't know why he chose not to?" _Darcy sighed heavily.

"Look, I know this looks like a trap... or something. A sloppy one at that. I didn't even know if I should call you, if it was safe, or if there is something I don't know about that's going to happen to me. I just... I just want to come home. And I... thought you should know. I'm... at my apartment." She sniffled. Normally she had to do something truly naughty to necessitate bringing out the crocodile tears on Nick Fury, not that they ever worked. Hell, pouting worked easier on Lo-

Nope. Not going there.

She had spent the last two weeks using her skills to sabotage them at every turn. And the tears were real this time.

_"I'll have you picked up in fifteen minutes. Meet your contact on the roof of the apartment just south of yours."_

"Who's my contact?"

_"You'll know him when you see him."_

Yes. She supposed she would recognize Tony effing Stark when she saw him.

It had taken all of her fifteen minutes to shower and change. The helicopter (that probably wasn't the correct name for it, but it was the best she could come up with) landed just as she walked through the door to the roof. It was really loud, and the spinning blades blew her still damp hair away from her face. With his billion dollar swagger, Stark hopped off the craft and came waltzing up to her in as casual a stride as she had ever seen. To her even greater surprise, Steve Rogers hopped out too and followed him. She had never met either of them, but recognized one from television and the other from his file. She knew her eyes had to be the size of saucers. Two Avengers after the incredibly fearsome Darcy Lewis, she thought bitterly to herself. They both looked wary in their own way: Rogers in a more obvious, vigilant way, and Tony in a more not-give-a-damn way. She supposed she should take it as the one and only opportunity to feel badass. So what if they thought she was part of a trap or still possessed by Loki? Captain America and Iron Man were just a little afraid of her. Cool... she guessed. She gripped her belt loops as they approached, remaining still.

"I'm going to take a leap and guess you're Darcy Lewis?" Tony shouted to be heard over the helicopter. She could see his eyes scanning their surroundings, as she nodded. "I'm not entirely sorry to have to do this, considering the obscene amount of Tylenol I've had to take on your account, but you will need to be taken into custody until you are cleared as a threat." She nodded again, slowly. Okay. Less fun. "I'm going to need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back." She obeyed, however slowly, sadly unable to stop the fresh tears from forming in her eyes. She knew it wouldn't be easy, and the feeling of whatever plastic rings they were putting around her wrists was both terrifying and uncomfortable. Especially since she couldn't wipe her face before she turned around. Tony remained impassive while Steve was clearly more affected by her tears. She supposed she was a proper damsel in distress now.

"Just bear with us, Miss Lewis. It won't be very much longer," Captain America said. Such a boy scout. She loved him a little for it. She nodded, again, and tried to not appear so very, very pathetic. It really sucked being a normal person among superheroes. Climbing up into the helicopter proved difficult while handcuffed. Steve took it upon himself to lift her up into the cabin. She had never considered herself particularly light, but he made her feel like a sack of potatoes. A light sack, at that. Damn. She took the closest seat available as Steve and Tony climbed up and closed the door. She felt a slight vertigo when they took off. It was still a relief to be on her way back to SHIELD, handcuffed or no.

The only thing that was not a relief was the very long and pregnant pause that would most likely dominate the ride back to the big ship in the sky. God, she wish she could stop crying. And drown out Loki's voice from her head.

_Darcy, dear girl, you will be deaf soon if you keep listening to that thing so loudly._

_Don't worry, my prince. I could still hear you._

The memory was fuzzy, but she was pretty sure he like it when she called him that. She thought she would cry again.

"You need to move fast," she said, breaking the silence suddenly. "But there's nothing I can tell you Loki didn't plan on you knowing."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Tony Stark did not often get the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had as he landed on the top of his building. Every piece of his suit coming off of him was one more opening for Loki to tear into. Stark could see the demi-god standing on the top floor of Stark Tower as if he owned it. The Iron Man didn't like it. Not one bit. Unfortunately, his current suit was far too damaged to be of any use to him and JARVIS had to get him a new one. Stark had no idea how to close that portal and they were all running out of time. So far he had an ace high in his hand and only one more card, but he wasn't sure how it would play.

Fact: Loki let Darcy go.

At first Tony had thought taking time to go rescue the girl that had been wreaking havoc on their computers would be a monumental waste of time. Not to mention she had somehow gotten into JARVIS and programmed him to play nothing but Aqua in his suit since she couldn't get past the firewall to shut it down. He wasn't sure if he could ever forgive her for that. Nick said that Darcy had been at the heart of Loki's operation and was, so far, their best chance at figuring out how to shut down the Tesseract, especially since she had been on assignment with Selvig from the beginning. As little as the girl knew about astrophysics, she was their their best asset in trying to figure out how to close the portal. It did not promote much confidence about their chances.

Darcy had been examined closely by Natasha (Tony wished he could have watched that) and, from what the Black Widow could tell, there was no sign of brainwashing to be seen on her. She had even directed them to Stark Tower as Loki's destination. As she recounted to them what had happened before her escape an avoidance of the eyes (the girl was truly terrible at lying) and a fairly visible blush had told him that she was leaving something out of her story, and it was probably something of an ungentlemanly nature on the God of Mischief's part.

It was a good thing Darcy, along with maybe the Boy Scout, was the only one in the room bad at lying because everyone else could pretty much deduce the gist of what she didn't want to mention. None of it made a damn bit of sense, and everything Loki did, while crazy, made sense from a tactical standpoint. He followed logic that the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist could normally track with, but letting her go made no sense. He had nothing to gain. Offering her the use of his other magic stick hours before the showdown made no sense. That was something Tony himself would have done, but Loki didn't seem the type. There was only one thing Tony knew would absolutely never make sense to him.

Love.

He wasn't saying Loki was in love with Darcy, but there was something keeping him from hurting her. Loki's own words, according to Darcy. It was the last card coming down the river and he had to see how to play it. That very moment, the girl was on the roof with the now unconscious Dr. Selvig trying desperately to figure out how to close the portal. It was dangerous. Darcy was not a fighter. If a Chitauri found her, she would be defenseless. But if they were right, and Loki did have some kind of true fondness for her and saw her in danger, it might give them the advantage. It was a ruthless play that was nowhere near guaranteed to work, but Darcy knew it for what it was and had agreed. What was done was done, and the only thing left was the god in question staring him down as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Here to appeal to my better nature?" Loki questioned with a smirk as Tony headed to the bar.

"Thought about it," Tony replied. "Darcy said it was useless though. I'm more here to threaten you." The smirk on Loki's face grew wider.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to mention her," he said. "Five seconds. Impressive."

"Well, I have to admit, I was more curious as to why she is alive and well back with us than how we're supposed to overcome this little army of yours. Of course, that was until I met her. Even if I were an evil god trying to take over the world, I'd be sad to kill anything with legs that long and a rack that nice. Want a drink? I'm having one." Loki smirked again.

"Indeed. I was not expecting much from this planet, but she is an interesting piece of work. I must say I'm surprised she told you; although I shouldn't be. Keeping her mouth closed was not one of her talents."

"If by 'tell us,' you mean she stammered over your last conversation and did her best to impersonate a tomato, than yes she told us. I honestly thought you would have taught her to lie a bit better than that. And I certainly would have expected more from you. For shame. But, like I said: rack and legs. Sure you don't want a drink?"

"Stalling me won't change anything. The Chitauri are coming." If Loki had a master play with her, he would be throwing it in his face right about now. He changed the topic, so he was avoiding something. It was a weakness. "What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers."

Darcy looked over at Erik, terribly sad with the way things had gone for him. She only hoped if any of them came out alive, he would be one of them. She breezed through files upon files, not knowing what any of it meant. The only thing she could think to do with it was to look and see if something important was hidden and see if she could make heads or tails of it.

"Why will they be concerned with me when they are too busy fighting you instead?" Loki said, touching his scepter to Tony's chest.

The bewildered look on the God of Mischief's face when he touched metal instead of flesh was truly priceless. Tony would remember it for many years to come. The only thing that could have topped it was the following experimental attempt.

"Performance issues. It happens. One out of five, they say," Tony said casually. He faked a concerned look. "That wasn't why you didn't close the deal with Darcy, was it?" That earned him a nice case of strangulation and defenestration. Luckily JARVIS finally had his suit ready with not a moment to spare as he plummeted to the ground.

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. **Oh, shit**," was the only thing Darcy could think as she watched a small batch of Chitauri land on the rooftop with some very not non-lethal looking guns. The sounds of fighting caught her attention on her other side. The bright red cape and blonde hair registered in her mind as "Thor is alive!" While he seemed to have his hands full fighting his brother, and she certainly wasn't keen on alerting Loki to her being there, she also wasn't ready to get lasered or worse by a couple of Chitauri.

"THOR!" she cried, still desperately trying to stay focused on the computer. She grabbed her taser she had snagged from SHIELD. It wouldn't save her, but she wasn't going down without firing it one last time. She would never know exactly how it happened. A flash of red fabric and blonde hair was suddenly between her and the encroaching enemies. She sighed with relief as he dispatched them with no problem. She would have hugged him if it weren't for the whole imminent apocalypse thing.

"Darcy!" he said, rushing to her side at the monitors. "Can you stop the Tesseract?"

"It has an impenetrable force field around it. But it looks like Erik secretly programmed a failsafe. He must have been slightly lucid like I was near the end. We need Loki's scepter. It can shut it down." Thor looked off into the thick of the battle to see his brother flying around on a Chitauri craft. Even from the distance, Thor could see him glaring daggers at the two of them.

"Good. I will do my best to retrieve it. In the meantime, we must get you to safe-" he was cut off as his brother knocked him off the building with his small craft. Darcy screamed as her friend disappeared from sight, leaving only a very angry looking Loki. He hopped off the small Chitauri-mobile and walked with a purpose toward her. If she backed up she would fall off the edge of the building, but at that moment she would have almost been willing to take her chances with gravity rather than him.

"You stupid fool," he spat at her, grabbing her by her upper arm and dragging her away from the portal. "I gave you a chance to hide in safety until it was over. You squander it to try to save your friends' hopeless cause of freedom? Against me? You could have stayed hidden until my rule was-"

"There will _be_ no safe place to hide from this, Loki!" she screamed, giving a useless shove against his chest to free herself. He held fastly to her arm, but her outburst startled him, surprisingly. "When are you going to wake up? Look around you. Is this your glorious purpose?" Oh god, the tears were coming. Come _on_ girl, emotions. "You'll have a nice graveyard to rule over by the end of the day. Congratulations. I'm not taking it lying down." A poor choice of words, she couldn't help thinking.

"What is it you expect from me?" he snarled, using his grip to pull her face close to his. "You stand there in your tears and your sorrow and keep wanting, _wanting_, _**wanting **_something from me. By what right do you expect anything? I had perfected these plans long before I ever brought you into this particular picture. I've come too far to stop now."

"It's never too late to do the right thing, Loki," she whispered. "You _can_ stop now, before this gets any worse." He laughed.

"You and my brother are both so very sentimental. He couldn't talk me out of this, and he has known me for centuries. Why should I listen to you now? I am the monster, Darcy, and I will do what monsters will." She could feel the grip he had on her upper arm tighten in frustration. Darcy's eyes hardened as she looked at him and noticed something. She had missed them before, but there were tears in his eyes, far more imperceptible than her own and more difficult to see behind his helmet. He looked as if he were so overcome with rage and hatred that it would eat up what remained of him. She softened again.

She was dead anyway. She knew when Tony had landed her on the roof that she probably wouldn't make it out alive. She wasn't a hero. She was destined to be a civilian casualty that the heroes could mourn, if she was lucky. She at least had to make the most of it. She reached up, placing a hand on the side of his face. She was touching mostly helmet, only her thumb touching flesh next to his mouth. He recoiled a bit, but did not pull away. She gasped as his helmet slowly faded away in golden light, her hand coming into full contact with his face.

"You aren't a monster," she whispered. "Not yet. Your family still loves you. They still think there is something left to save." She looked down for a moment before looking back at him. "You were nice to me. In your own way, I guess. Didn't that mean anything?" A strained, mocking chuckle escaped him, but it seemed hollow.

"Only that you are as much a fool as they are," he said bitterly. He still had not removed her hand from his face. "I could have killed you as soon as looked at you, child. You think you can save me? That you can bat your pretty little eyelashes and melt the ice? It's a pathetic girl's fantasy, Darcy. I found myself amused by your antics. Maybe even intrigued at how someone so naive could exist in a world that would destroy itself just as surely as Chitauri would. I might even find this place more interesting with you in it. But do not presume to have more power over me than that." His green eyes glittered with all the sharpness of a hundred knives plunging into her stomach. She let her hand fall from his face, and slowly backed away. He let go of her other arm to allow it.

She looked as if she would say something else until her eyes betrayed what caught her attention. Erik Selvig had come to, and was currently trying to shut down the portal. Loki stalked toward him, scepter ready to skewer the astrophysicist. Darcy thought of Agent Coulson, who had died that very morning because of her, and thought of another person dead because she wasn't strong enough was more than she could handle.

"No Loki!"

She didn't really know what her plan was as she launched herself in front of Loki's scepter. She wasn't exactly the think and plan ahead type. Maybe she was tired of being afraid. Maybe she had developed a healthy case of "death wish" in the past few days. She listened to indie music and ate Pop Tarts for dinner. She didn't seem to fit the bill to survive in a world dominated by an emotionally unstable super-alien. She really, _really_, didn't want to look down and see Loki's spear protruding from her stomach. It happened all the same. She hadn't thought that out. It didn't hurt as much as she thought, though. She was probably going into shock. She supposed she should be grateful.

She met Loki's eyes before she felt herself falling to the floor, grabbing her stomach. When she felt a warm liquid oozing over her fingers, she gasped, suddenly able to feel the pain. Well, at least he had the decency to look upset. She supposed she could be grateful for that, too.

"_This is so boooring," Darcy said, fluttering about him restlessly as he studied the Tesseract. Loki found himself rolling his eyes at her, and it wasn't the first time he had caught himself doing so that week. The girl had done as much as she could do to infiltrate SHIELD's security for the time being. But now for some reason, she expected _him_ to be some source of entertainment. She peered closely at the Cube, her head now obscuring his view. He sighed, leaning his head back and to the side. _

_"Whatcha doing?" she asked._

"_I am studying, or trying to."_

"_Don't your eyes hurt? You've been staring at that thing forever."_

"_You've been watching me?" he asked, his amusement apparent. She colored a bit._

"_What else am I supposed to look at? Erik just ignores me, and Bird Boy said if I touched his bow again, he would pin me to a wall with it."_

"_And what is it you think _I_ will do to you if you continue to pester me?"_

"_I'm not pestering!" she said, plopping herself beside him. "I'm helping. What are you doing?" In spite of himself, Loki found he enjoyed playing along to relieve the mortal's ennui._

"_There is still much power and knowledge I can glean from the Tesseract. My time with it is limited. I am trying to take what I can from it while I am able."_

"_Like what?"_

"_Like how to increase the power of my spells or learn new ones. It is terrible in its efficiency."_

"_You can get this by looking at it?"_

"_By listening to it, child."_

"_It's not saying anything."_

"_You have to know how to hear from it."_

"_How can you do that?" Loki studied her closely for a moment, unsure of how he felt about her questions. The way she looked at him was with eyes wide, eager to hear his answers. She was far from unpleasant to look at, for a human, he supposed. If he had to pick a word, at the moment, he'd have to describe her as... cute. It made indulging her not entirely out of the question._

"_Come," he said. "Sit in front of me." She hesitated for a moment, but did what he said. He scooted back on the bench he was on, spreading his knees wider to accommodate her. She sat between his legs, facing the Cube as he asked. He could hear her breathing quicken. When he looked down, he could easily see her chest rising and falling more rapidly. He grinned devilishly. She really was a little too much fun sometimes. The warmth and curve of her back pressed again the front of him was, also, far from unpleasant._

_"Pick it up," he commanded. She slowly leaned forward, picking up the Tesseract from its placeholder and leaned back to her sitting position against him. His hands came over hers as they both held it together. "You have no magic. It will be easier if you hold it. Every owner of this Cube has an imprint of sorts on it; even you, for you hold it now. Their secrets and power are held within. Sorcerers and scientists from across the nine realms have held this for millennia. If you concentrate, you can take the knowledge they've left behind." Loki watched as Darcy leaned intently toward the Cube, turning her ear closer to it as if trying to listen. He smirked again. "Close your eyes. Focus closely." She obeyed, as always. Loki slowly began drawing energy from the Cube, allowing it to pass through her fingers. He heard her gasp softly. "What do you hear?"_

_"Some guy yelling in German," she said. "I can see him. He's red and bald."_

_"Anything else?"_

"_There are so many. It's like..." she paused. "There's so many people. It's like an ocean of souls. I can hear them all whispering."_

"_What are they all saying?"_

"_I can't make any one voice out."_

"_Concentrate. Single someone out."_

"_Okay."_

"_Who do you see?"_

_"I can see you," she said._

_"Oh?"_

_"You are holding a big blue box. You are yelling at someone." She was silent for a long time. What was she seeing? Loki grew uncomfortable. "You're blue!" He paused, no longer enjoying his game._

_"I think that is enough for one day," he said. "Put it down." She did so as he leaned back away from her, waiting for her to get up. Instead she turned around to look at him._

_"You are upset."_

_"I am done humoring you, mortal."_

_"Don't be a douche," she said, more commanding than he expected. He arched a fine brow at her. He had a vague inclination that he had been insulted. "We were having fun. Why were you blue? Were you sick?"_

_"It is my Jotunn form," he said through gritted teeth, picking her up easily and standing her upright before standing himself._

_"What's a Jotunn?"_

"_The dullness of your race never ceases to amaze me, " he said, walking away._

"_Enlighten us, then, O God of Mischief," she said with a smile, running to his side. Why he did not kill this girl was beyond him._

"_The Jotunn are a race of monsters from the realm of Jotunheim."_

"_I thought you were from Asgard."_

"_Not originally, apparently. Although I much more enjoy the splendor of the Realm Eternal than the frozen wastes of the Jotunn."_

"_So you are a Jotunn?" His jaw clenched again._

"_Yes."_

"_But you're not a monster." He blinked. She did not seem to notice. "Why aren't you blue all the time?"_

"_Why do you ask so many questions?" he snapped, stopping in his tracks, staring her down. She was quiet a moment._

"_I only have so much time to learn everything I want to know. I'm already 23," she responded, and then continued, "Is it because you do magic?" He rolled his eyes, continuing to walk away from her._

"_I would be careful, my pet, to not become more trouble than you are worth." She smiled._

"_Oh, stop threatening me," she said, following him. "I'm too pretty to kill. So where is Jotunheim?"_


	7. Chapter 7

It was like her life was a film strip that had been run through a blender and then glued back together in a different order. She could just remember small clips of what must have once been her memory. Looking down at blood running through her fingers. Jane turning around and smiling at her in New Mexico. A sterile white room with an oxygen mask over her face and pain like she'd never imagined she'd feel in her stomach. Loki hovering over her, lips close to hers, whispering hesitant and desperate apologies. Flying through the air in Thor's strong and reassuring embrace. Hearing the Hulk roar. It was such a mess. She didn't remember any of it with any clarity. Except for Jane. She missed her so much it kind of hurt a little.

It was a struggle to open her eyes. Her lids were heavy and she could tell she was on some serious drugs. She didn't feel this loopy even on a good day. She felt like she was in a hospital room, but it seemed nicer. Her blankets were warm and soft, not thin and cheap. Her body ached to the core quite literally. Flashes of becoming a kebab temporarily ran through her head, as she gingerly pulled down the blanket covering her and pulled up the very nice nightgown she was in. She wasn't undead. There was no wound, only a wicked looking black and blue bruise spanning her entire stomach. She touched it carefully. Pain radiated with the contact.

"That will still hurt like a bitch if you touch it," she heard from the corner, a little too late. She looked over to see Director Fury seated in a chair in the corner of her room. It took some time to adjust to the light when she opened her eyes fully, and she tried to sit up.

"Where am I?" she asked, her throat dry. Her boss stood up, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water, bringing it to her.

"Stark Tower," he said. "What's left of it. Tony had you set up here to recover since most of the local hospitals are still flooded with injured civilians." Darcy raised her eyebrows and stuck out her bottom lip appreciatively.

"Nice," she said, taking the water. She wanted to rejoice as the cool relief slid down her throat. "You want to start from the top? Well, where I left off, anyway? Mainly, why the fairly prominent opening in my stomach isn't there anymore?"

"The Council launched a nuclear missile at Manhattan during the attack." Darcy's mouth dropped open as she attempted to lift her head off her pillow.

"W-T-F?"

"They thought we were a lost cause and wanted to end the invasion. Tony managed to fly it up into the alien army base when Loki reopened the portal."

"I'll just wait for you to explain that 'reopened' part."

"When Loki... tried to kill Erik and you... stopped him... Loki did some kind of turn about, so to speak." Nick always paused a lot when he was giving her a talk. "When he realized how you had figured out a way to stop the invasion, he took his scepter and removed the Cube, closing the portal. He was able to use the Tesseract's power to heal you somehow. It guess it isn't his specialty, you still have severe trauma to your stomach, but it will heal and you didn't bleed to death. With Thor, they managed to reopen the portal in order to direct the nuclear missile. Stark was nearly killed taking it up there; but he survived. Loki closed the portal again. The Chitauri took it as a betrayal of their agreement. Loki helped us kill the rest." It took a good five minutes of complete silence for Darcy to soak that in. She might have fallen asleep for some for a few of those minutes. _So_ many drugs.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Agent Romanov and Barton are back at the SHIELD facility. Stark, Rogers, and Banner are here in the tower, also. Rogers isn't very comfortable with us given the actions of the Council. Stark is letting him stay here." That was something she was she didn't expect. Those two nearly hated each other. Playboys and Golden Boys tended not to play nice.

"And the last two you haven't mentioned?" Darcy asked.

"Thor and Loki have returned the Cube to Asgard. Thor said he wished return to see how you were when you woke once they had..."

"Dealt with Loki," Darcy finished. Deal with Loki. How would they do that? He had almost destroyed their world and helped save it all in one day. He had almost killed her and saved her life within moments. Fury stood, stoic as always. It was kind of comforting knowing some things were still the same.

"I know we haven't really been able to discuss your time in captivity; but it seems that the impending war is over, for the time being. I am having a hard time understanding why he would throw over his plan to save your life." Darcy was silent a moment. She was actually silent for a lot of moments. He continued to press. "Were you two...?" He trailed off, not able to finish the question while looking at her. She quirked an amused eyebrow at him.

"Doin' the hippity dippity?" she finished. Nick rolled his one visible eye, some of the tension on his shoulders alleviated. It appeared she hadn't completely lost her touch.

"I was going to go with 'intimate,' but your vocabulary once again proves superior." She laughed weakly.

"No, we weren't 'intimate,'" she said somewhat seriously. "When we escaped the ship, and my mind was back he... suggested it. I figured it was a play so that he could mess with you guys."

"A likely scenario if I hadn't seen what had followed. Thor told me Loki taunted him about you when he was locked in the cell." Darcy paused. He had planned it back that far, had he? Jerk. "Anything else?" he asked.

"I don't know, Director, he said a lot of things to me. You can never tell if he is being sincere or just a bastard. He said a lot of things that I want to believe, and a lot of things I don't. One minute he said he preferred the world with me in it, the next he would say he could kill me as soon as look at me. The guy has issues."

"But when it came down to it, he gave up his army to save you."

"This is so weird," Darcy had to say out loud. "Sorry, I don't know what to think of all this." They were silent for several minutes yet again, both of them trying to process the situation. Fury could tell the girl needed time to think. "I don't think he was giving it up for me, despite how morbidly romantic that would be," she finally said. "I think... I think he was just tired of the path he was on. It was going nowhere, and he knew it. If anything, I might have had a small part in helping him realize it, hopefully. Maybe. And... maybe he was grateful. While I was all 'Enemy-Spy-Darcy,' it sometimes felt like we were... friends. Sometimes. He was nice once you got used to the him. We even joked together a little. I was mentally obligated to obey his every command, of course, but he wasn't entirely unpleasant to me. It all kind of went topside when I got my brain back. I didn't understand why he didn't magic my brain again at first. The best I can come up with was that he liked the... idea of being friends. Not to feel sorry for the bad guy, but I think I'm pretty much the only friend he has besides Thor, and don't get me _started_ on those two. But we could never be actual friends while he was controlling me, really. But anyway, trying to get in Loki's head is a dangerous, dangerous thing to do." Fury stood up, folding his arms behind his back, looking out the window to her room.

"I know this can't be easy for you, Lewis. None of us expected it to end this way. Before Thor left, though, he proposed something to me."

"What?" Darcy asked, trying to sit up. Nick came over, raising the hospital bed instead. "Well, that's easier," she said, relaxing and letting him do the work for her.

"Thor has always wanted to reason with Loki. He's his brother, for all intents and purposes, and he loves him. The fact that Loki helped us in the end the war, regardless of his reasoning, or that fact he started it in the first place, proved to Thor that there is some hope for him."

"You don't sound convinced," she said grimly.

"It doesn't matter, I'm afraid. Willingness to rehabilitate Loki was the price of Thor's help. I knew that going in. Not to mention, Loki is in great danger now." Darcy nodded.

"I'm guessing his alien army didn't take very kindly to him switching sides and giving the Tesseract to someone else," she commented. "What did Thor say?"

"He... requested if you might be willing to help him, with his brother." Darcy furrowed his brows came together.

"What kind of help? Target practice to keep him sharp? I think I've done all I can. Sorry." Fury couldn't hide the sad smirk from forming for a brief moment.

"Thor is certain Loki will be exiled from Asgard, as he was, if not worse. He was going to request from Odin to have him serve out his sentence here on Earth. Thor hoped that... you could continue whatever influence it is you have on Loki and that maybe some good will come of it." Darcy shook her head.

"I don't think Loki would go along with any of this; and trust me, no matter what it looks like, I don't have any influence over Loki."

"Loki has been nothing but compliant for the past three days," Fury said. "He swore he would abandon all devices of war upon Earth. He signed an agreement which Thor said would be sealed by Odin, promising aid from Asgard in the event it is not upheld. This also for the exchange of any aid we can offer in keeping Loki away from the Chitauri. When they rebuild and go after Loki, we doubt they will look here. Not at first. Thor and Loki both will need someone to help them adjust if they are going to be here for a while. We could think of no one better than you." She gave him a quizzical look.

"Director Fury, he just spent the last few weeks messing with my head. I doubt I'm the best person to do that. You've said it before: I belong behind a computer, not in front of a person." A sad smile appeared on his face.

"You have the most experience with both of them. Not to mention, Thor requested you specifically. I'm afraid he does not trust SHIELD at the moment. I cannot say that I blame him."

"I guess we'll have to see how things go with Odin," she said. "This might not even happen. I'll think about it later. Anyway. I need to get home. I haven't been at my apartment for weeks for longer than thirty minutes. I think I'm starting to miss the crummy place." Fury stiffened.

"About that," Fury said. "Unfortunately... your apartment was among the buildings destroyed in the combat." Darcy's face fell.

"So I'm a homeless kebab," she said. At least she wasn't crying. "Everything I owned was in that apartment. My... computer... was in that apartment."

"Stark said you'd be welcome here while you find something more permanent."

"For a little while, I guess," she said noncommittally.

"I do not know why Fate has chosen to torment me with such reckless, foolish sons," the All-Father's booming voice echoed in the private hall he chose to hold the reunion of the royal family for the first time in a almost two years. Normally, the span of time were but blinks of an eye to the immortals. The rift that had formed among the four of them, however, seem to stretch it out a bit more. Frigga held silently to Odin's side, her grief for Loki still apparent on her face. The trickster had managed to remain aloof when he saw Odin for the first time. The sight of his mother's tears, however, had undone him from the inside out. He could not bring himself to deny her as his mother as he had Odin for the past year. "You are princes of Asgard," Odin continued, "and yet you both have done what you could to tear apart these peaceful realms in these past years."

Thor stood at the side of his brother as they both bowed their heads. Thor did not take offense to Odin grouping him together with Loki. He had, after all, been equally as reckless once; and he felt it better that his younger brother not feel isolated in the rather harsh scolding that was coming. If only it were as easy as a few stern words from their father. No. Not when you were of Asgard, and certainly not when your father was _the_ All-Father. Loki was only just teetering back from the edges of madness. Thor did not want him to feel alone.

"You do not need to involve Thor in this. He has already been punished for his crimes," Loki answered calmly but with his head still bowed. "It is I that am due justice and it is I who am here to pay the price." Odin stared at Loki for a good long moment as both his sons rose to their feet. The sight both infuriated him and broke his heart.

"Very well," Odin said, his tone more even. "Then let us begin. As always, you have been able to avoid Heimdall's gaze. So the extent of your crimes will probably never be known. The bulk involves the deaths of hundreds of mortals by your own hand. You enslaved the minds of several, robbing them of their own will, and forcing them to assist your work. And finally, you entered into a contract with a hostile enemy force and unleashed them upon an nearly defenseless realm, promising the Tesseract to them in return, a rightful power of Asgard. But, at the same time, you closed the portal, assisted your brother in protecting the civilian population from a corrupt mortal counter attack, as well as reviving a mortal whom you nearly killed." Odin stepped closer to his younger son, watching him closely.

"I do not deny that I have done you wrong by lying to you, Loki. But the wrongs you have suffered pale in comparison to those you have committed. The evil deeds you have done would normally call for lengthy imprisonment or execution." Loki could hear his mother's sharp intake of breath at his words. He would remain stoic for her. "However, your actions since that battle on Earth lead me to be willing to believe you wish to repent. Bear in mind, I'll have your lips sewn shut again before I hear another lie from them. Tell me, Loki Odinson, what are your intentions?"

Loki sighed heavily, a strange weight seemed to be simultaneously lifting and weighing on his shoulders at the address Odin had given him. He still called him son: after all that had happened and all he had done.

"I've had enough intentions for a while," Loki replied. "I wish to repair what I have damaged and set right what I have wronged. After that, I wish to find a path that is mine, although that won't be for a while yet, assuming you do not demand my execution."

"And the reason for this sudden change of heart?" Odin asked. Loki raised his eyes to his father's. _His father's,_ he repeated mentally. He did not see the hardness he expected or the hatred that he himself had felt since he had fallen to nothingness. He remembered how he felt, dangling there off the bridge. This man's approval was the only thing he had wanted in that moment. And it had been denied him. Here, he found himself wanting it again. His chances seemed slightly improved.

"I found...value...in a place I did not expect it," Loki replied. "It made things I thought important...less so."

"Am I to understand this 'value' of which you speak is the girl you almost killed?" Loki winced, but knew better than to lie. Odin sounded serious about having lips sewn shut... again.

"It began with her, yes," he said. "I found that if mortal a fraction of my age was able to speak wisdom over me, however incoherent at times, I was curious as to where else I had been wrong." Odin looked thoughtful, turning from him, and walking back towards his wife. Frigga remained ever silent, as always, a balm to the wounds the men in her life tore into each other.

"Your brother has suggested that it would be best that you serve out your sentence living among the mortals you once tried to enslave: that your repentance should be earned in their service. I am inclined to agree with him. This will be contingent upon the mortals' agreement to allow you among them, once again. Your powers do not originate from Asgard and I am unable to remove them from you as any source of security. Should they reject you, you will be banished to the realm of Jotunheim from whence you were found. The family from which you have made every effort to turn away will finally give you the isolation you have sought. Do you understand the judgement I passed?" Loki nodded.

"I do."

"Then return to Midgard. When you show yourself to be worthy of your title, you may return home." Odin looked to Frigga, taking his leave of her. With a solemn look, he made to leave the room. He paused as he passed his younger son, placing a firm, aged hand on his shoulder. He spoke no more words as he left.

Frigga wasted no more in running to the two of them, throwing her arms around Loki.

"My son," she cried into his shoulder, tears falling freely. "No matter how your father sounds, we all longed for your return." Try as he might, Loki could not remain cold to his mother's tears as one slipped from his eye. He hesitantly allowed his long arms to wrap around her much smaller frame to comfort her. It seemed strange to embrace anyone after so long with only his emptiness and hate to keep him company.

"Forgive me, mother," he said quietly, regret breaking through the resolve of his words. "It was never my desire to cause you grief." And it had not been, he could honestly admit. His mother had loved him equally to Thor if not even showing him favor occasionally as her youngest. For that he would treasure her always. His own self-loathing only deepened knowing how much pain he had caused her in his reckless ambition. The elegant queen pulled away, running a hand down the side of his face and through his hair which was longer than she remembered. He closed his eyes briefly, remembering Darcy's hand following that exact same motion minutes before she threw herself in front of his scepter. He squeezed his eyes together tightly at the uncomfortable memory. "You will return to us, Loki. I have no doubt of it."

"Thank you mother. I believe Thor and I should waste no time, however. I am eager to know what fate the humans have in store for me." He looked to Thor. "Come, brother."

"I will meet you in the vault," Thor said. "I wish to say goodbye to mother." Loki nodded silently, making his exit.

"Oh, Thor," Frigga said. "I know it is useless; but I do so wish we could go back to the way things were. My poor boy. I feel as if he will never be the same again."

"Perhaps it is for the better, mother," Thor said, wrapping a strong arm around her. "It was for me."

"I argued with your father about your banishment as well," she admitted. "But it was what you needed. I can only hope Loki finds what he needs as you did." Thor smirked. Frigga did not miss it. "What in the Nine Realms could you find amusing?"

"It was Jane that showed me what it was to care for others above myself, mother," Thor said. "If I am not mistaken, I believe Loki may have found a match as well." Frigga looked at him bewildered.

"Loki?" she questioned. "Taken with a mortal? Who?"

"I could be wrong of course. Loki is far more complex a being than I. But I saw him when he thought Darcy died on that roof. Whatever feeling he has toward her, it is not a mild one." Frigga shook her head, defeated.

"The girl that almost died at his hand?"

"The very same," Thor replied. Frigga's finely manicured brows came together.

"Of course if anyone were to become infatuated with a woman from the very race he vowed to hate and dominate, it would be your brother. What is it about this realm that has both of my sons in such rapture?"

"Perhaps it is in the water?"


	8. Chapter 8

Today was the big day. Her fate would be decided for her in a fifteen minutes by people, most likely, other than herself. She supposed it came with a territory, yet again, of working for a government agency that specialized in saving the world. She kind of had to just go where she was told. (At least Loki had the balls to just go ahead possess her outright without giving her the illusion of free will.) She had experienced a certain amount of freedom as an underling at SHIELD. Computer programmers were a dime a dozen; and while she was more talented than most, she was pretty replaceable. No one really paid her much mind. Get kidnapped by a demigod and play a small, insignificant part in a war and suddenly everyone had to decide where she was needed. And it wasn't even because her skills were particularly useful like Jane; it was because said demigod happened to find her amusing.

She also knew her wonderful sunshine attitude came a from a mixture of what she would probably have to classify as mild depression brought on by near death, enslavement, and the happy pills she was currently taking. Well, painkillers, which made her happier. Her abdomen and center of her back was still one huge ugly bruise. It looked like she had frostbite on her stomach. Her insides weren't in much better condition, what with being run through and all. Doctors had assured her that she would recover in a few weeks.

She breezed into the SHIELD conference room five minutes late. Well, at least she was back to normal in some areas. She knew she looked ridiculously out of place. She wore a short, plain, lightweight sundress, as her attempt to wear pants had resulted in her passing out for ten minutes from the pain of the waistband. It wasn't exactly her style. Since all of her clothes had been destroyed, Pepper had picked up a few outfits for her to wear until she could go shopping on her own. Not that she wasn't grateful, she was, but most of the outfits she had were a little too cute and feminine than what she was used to. They were all very... Pepper. Well, Pepper on the weekend. No power suits. She was pretty sure she hadn't shown this much leg since grade school. Cute, feminine, sundress in the middles of suits, spandex and armor just made her feel even weirder. She didn't belong there. She was also wearing oversized sunglasses that took up most of her face, as light-sensitivity being one of the many other side effects of her medication. She was so happy she was on drugs. Loss of self-awareness -moreso than usual- was another side-effect, apparently. It was easier just to not give a damn.

"Sorry I'm late," she offered quietly. There they all were in all their superhero glory: Steve, Tony, Bruce, Natasha, and Barton. Then of course, in the far corner, Thor and Loki. Nick Fury stood at the front while Erik sat in the corner. God, she hadn't even talked to Erik in weeks. She felt like someone was missing until she realized it was Coulson she was looking for. If she had eaten anything, she was worried she might have tossed her cookies right there all over Captain America as Coulson's death finally hit her. Of all people, Steve could probably handle it. He'd probably even offer her a handkerchief.

She was yet again glad she was still loopy from the meds. She would have normally freaked out with nine pairs of eyes on her. Especially when one pair belong to a certain trickster.. god... man... who had just... sucked. God, why was he staring at her? she was glad her sunglasses hid her eyes. They were literally anywhere but on him. She said nothing, though, as she slipped as gracefully as she could -which wasn't very- into the seat between Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanov, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's okay, we can all get started now," Fury said as patiently as his personality would allow. Damn. He would have reamed her a new orifice for being late before. Things were totally not business as usual. "I understand you are all eager to go your separate ways," Nick addressed. "Know that I am behind you 100% on maintaining your autonomy. There are some decisions to be made before you leave I thought you all should have a say in. You have all earned that." Darcy sat back in her chair, resting her arms on the chair, trying her best to make herself comfortable. The pain was coming back. "First: the Council. I know we all saw what happened out there four days ago. They made a bad call, and we almost paid for it dearly. I feel it is necessary that members of the council, as well as our relationships with them be evaluated."

"Aw, Nickie managed to make an understatement," Tony said. "I'm so proud." Nick continued, the edge his voice usually carried when following a comment from Tony carried.

"I wanted to assure you that it will be under investigation from us. However, the largest matter on the table here today, as you can imagine, is the sentence of Loki." All eyes, turned to the one in question. Even Darcy snuck a reluctant peek. He seemed...different. Even under the scrutiny, he was as cool as a cucumber. Or Jotun. Of course he, most of the time, at least appeared in control. Except for the whole flying off the handle and trying to kill people times. Something about him just seemed different. He was standing at Thor's side and they weren't trying to destroy each other. Maybe that was it. "Thor has requested of us that we allow him to serve his exile here. I thought it was only fair that you all had a hand in this decision."

Silence.

Absolute. Silence.

Darcy, later, would absolutely deny remembering starting to giggle as she pulled out the small bottle of pills from the pocket of her dress.

"Where's a cricket soundtrack when you need one?" she said, half laughing, as she knocked back another pill, leaning back in her chair casually and crossing her arms over her chest. Most of the room looked uncomfortable at the oblivious Darcy.

"I don't think it's fair that she's the only one who get to be high during this discussion," Tony said holding his hand out across the table. "Gimme one."

"Like hell," Darcy said. "I don't recall you getting stabbed through the stomach. You just ran out of oxygen for like two seconds. That doesn't even hurt." Everyone tried, and failed miserably, to not look at Loki's response to Darcy's careless mention of her near death at his hands. His eyes went downcast for a moment, but then returned to his stoic observance of the room.

"I still have _Barbie Girl _stuck in my head, thanks to you," Tony retorted. "You want to talk about _pain_?"

"It's the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it?"

"My friends," Thor cut in, as warmly as he could manage. "If, we could," he cleared his throat as both Tony and Darcy turned their eyes -or sunglasses- to him, "get back to the matter at hand." Darcy paused, looking very serious for a moment.

"What are we talking about again?" Darcy attempted to whisper to Natasha. Everyone still heard her. No one saw the slight smirk on Loki for a brief moment. He understood the girl was under the influence of some medication due to him; but he briefly wondered if she was really all that changed in temperament or attention span.

"Whether or not we want Loki here while he's exiled from Asgard," Natasha whispered more successfully.

"Right," Darcy said, nodding in confirmation. She then began looking expectantly at everyone for an answer in a comically obvious way.

"Just so we're clear," Banner said, taking the step to start negotiations, "what is it he's supposed to do here? Just... live here?"

"We would both be staying here for duration of his exile," Thor said, grateful to Bruce. "We would live as normal citizens until our father allows him back to Asgard."

"Why are you staying?" Banner questioned. Thor hesitated.

"To be sure I don't get to any more mischief while I'm here," Loki replied, surprising everyone, "as he has always done." Thor tossed his brother a look, unsure if Loki was trying to help or not.

"Why here?" Romanov asked. "With the Tesseract, you guys could to any galaxy you wanted. Why here?"

"The Chitauri will never give up their pursuit of us," Thor said. "But we doubt they will start looking here where Loki has so many enemies. Plus we feel that we can be of most use. This world seem to have a penchant for trouble." Loki noticed Thor automatically included himself as a hunted man, not just him alone. While Loki considered Thor a moronic child on most given days, he could not fault him in the loyalty department. He wanted to both strangle him for being so foolish and embrace him for still standing by his side. The stir of new emotions brought on by all of the events came in like a tide.

"You don't think that is logical thinking for the Chitauri?" Tony questioned. Thor tried his best to retain a face of diplomacy. It was not his strength. "He invited an alien invasion, almost got an entire city nuked and ran Miss Congeniality over here through with his mind control stick, which he used on thirty percent of the people in this room. Not to mention that he killed Agent Coulson in cold blood." It was again silent.

"He also helped stopped the invasion," Steve Rogers offered neutrally after several moments.

"After a nuclear missile had already been launched," Tony countered.

"He saved her," Rogers continued, motioning toward Darcy, who some were beginning to suspect had fallen asleep behind her sunglasses. "And helped reopen the portal to get rid of the bomb."

"Is she even awake?" Barton questioned.

"I'm listening, thank you," Darcy said.

"Where else would he go, if not here?" Banner asked. A grim look came over Thor's face.

"My father said he would be banished to the realm of Jotunheim, should you prove unwilling to allow us to stay here." Darcy's head popped up.

"Jotunheim?" she said, her voice slightly higher than normal. "The frozen tundra planet you tried to destroy?" Everyone looked at Loki. And unreadable look came across his face.

"Yes, Darcy, thank you. That one," he responded. Tony had a ridiculous smile on his face.

"You just make friends everywhere you go, don't you?" he said.

"I... have not very much to ingratiate myself to you, I'll admit," Loki replied in that soft voice few of them had experienced. "Should you chose to deny my presence here, I will not fault you for it. It would have been a well earned decision, on my part. My preference matters little. It is my brother's wish that I atone for my crimes in your service; and I am willing to oblige."

"'Willing to oblige?'" Rogers said. "Could you possibly be any less grateful?"

"You would rather I gush over how much I wish to serve you?" Loki questioned somewhat harshly. "I am endeavoring to be as sincere as I know how to be, for the moment. I have spent the past year comparing you to insects, both in my head and to your face. It does not come easy for me to be in your debt; but yes, I would prefer it to running for my life in a frozen wasteland."

The phrase 'silver tongue,' came to Darcy's mind. The guy really did have a way with words. He was being brutally honest; but that was what they needed to hear, and he knew it. That voice he used, she remembered. It was smooth as silk, and made you want to believe every damn word he said. It was a dangerous voice. She knew it probably was not going unnoticed that she was not saying yay or nay on the matter, by Thor most of all. From what she could tell, he expected her opinion would help sway the rest of Avengers. She knew she had become the group's lost puppy. She was the one who never killed and deceived and had almost died. If she was willing to forgive, they possibly could too. She didn't want to let Thor down; but she also didn't know how it would sound coming from her. Fury and Stark were already suspicious of the relationship between her and Loki. Not that she had anything to hide, but from the outside, Loki had given up world domination to save her life. It would be... awkward. But, looking over at the God of Thunder, she decided his friendship was worth it.

"Odin promised to help if there was any trouble, right?" she finally piped up, pushing her sunglasses up from her eyes to rest on top of her head. She rubbed her eyes, blinking a

couple of time, trying to force herself to shake the cobwebs.

"Yes," Thor confirmed, hope in his eyes for the first time since they started.

"Then you guys have little to lose and lot to gain. If he causes trouble, than you have Asgard at your back. If he's genuine, you have a powerful ally staying here on earth. Two actually, since apparently Thor comes with deal. Not to mention it can't hurt to help out someone called the 'All-Father.'" The whole room stared at her incredulously.

"Since when is intergalactic diplomacy your forte?" Tony questioned.

"Majored in political science for two semesters, thank you very much."

"She's right," Barton agreed.

"If he's sent to Jotunheim, we have nothing to gain and we would only lose Thor's friendship," Natasha seconded. As much as she wanted to hate Loki, she was always one to make the better play to get the upper hand. Emotion couldn't be involved.

"So am I understanding we are in favor in allowing Loki to stay here?" Fury tried to confirm. Slowly, but surely, everyone present gave a slight nod in agreement. The only one who didn't was Tony, who, after seeing everyone else, just shrugged his shoulders and offered a low "Whatever."

"Very well," Fury continued. "Thor and Loki will be staying for the indefinite stay of his exile."

"Where are they going to live?" Banner asked. "At the SHIELD facility?"

"As much as I hate to say this, considering the internal conflict within our agency, it would probably be best for them to remain slightly more removed than that; although we will take responsibility for helping them adjust." Darcy braced herself. "Lewis has agreed to help them adapt to living here. She has spent the most time with both of them, and I believe would be best suited for the role."

"Darcy?" Steve Rogers said, concerned. "She would be helpless!" Darcy scowled.

"I am _sitting_ right_ here_," she said somewhat quietly and very offended, crossing her arms across her chest.

"My apologies, Miss Lewis, but if... something should go wrong, you don't even have combat training." She scoffed.

"Cause yours did you _so_ much good in Germany," she retorted, looking off to the side. Tony smirked.

"Don't worry, Cap," he said. "Darcy has a weapon... or two... of her own she knows how to use."

"Thank you!" she said, genuinely, turning to Rogers and saying a little more sarcastically, "thank you. At least someone remembers I carry a taser." Bruce ran his hands through his hair while Natasha and Barton looked off to the side, succeeding in not smiling. Thor's eyes were also conspicuously looking anywhere other than Darcy or his brother. Loki knew if he were a normal person, he should be embarrassed or insulted or angered at the implication at the Iron Man's words that seemed to fly right over the girl's head. Instead, though, he went with the more... fun approach.

"Indeed, Miss Lewis," he said, "your... tasers... are quite impressive. I tremble and obey at the very sight of them." Thor slowly brought his hand up to rest his forehead in his hand, trying to relieve the headache that was developing behind his eyes.

"Damn, right," Darcy said, satisfied. "Are we almost done? I'm hungry. I expected donuts at this meeting."


	9. Chapter 9

"_Why can't I go?" Darcy asked in a tone dangerously close to what could be considered whining. "I never get to do anything fun with you guys. _I _found it, didn't I? And I have a _really_ pretty dress I could wear at home, too. I _never_ get to wear it." Loki smiled at her patiently, putting an arm around her waist to lead her away from Hawkeye and his team as the archer prepared for their mission to Germany. Neither of them noticed the enthralled Barton roll his eyes as they left._

"_You would look lovely in any dress, my pet..." Loki placated._

"_Well, duh," she cut in before he finished._

"_...But this might be a bit too dangerous for you. You got to come to Germany, did you not?" She crossed her arms over her chest. She was always displeased when she did that, he noticed._

"_I hate being a normal person in the middle of a bunch of superheroes," she said, frowning and casting her gazed to the floor._

"_Miss Lewis, if there is one thing I imagine you will absolutely never be, it is 'normal,'" Loki replied, attempting to soothe away the distressed wrinkles on her forehead. "How about this," he continued, taking her wrists in his hands gently and forcing her to uncross her arms, "When all of this is over, we can throw the biggest celebration you have ever seen. And you can wear as elegant a dress as you wish. Such will be required in the company of a king." She seemed to consider his offer._

"_Well... okay," she relented, staring down at their hands. The gentle hold he had on her wrists had devolved into her resting her small hands in his. "There will be ice cream?" she questioned. He smiled._

"_I shall summon these wizards you call Benjamin and Gerald for the sole purpose of creating it for you." She laughed pleasantly as he released her hands and continued leading her away from the preparation area. Her face became serious as they continued walking._

"_I have been watching them," she said gravely. "They know we are in Germany. They are sending the wonder boy to stop you." She scoffed. "As if."_

"_Darcy, if I didn't know any better, I would say you sounded concerned for me." She shrugged noncommittally, nervously chewing her bottom lip._

"_I just... I mean... I know you want to get captured but... What if... I don't know."_

"_Don't worry yourself, my little minion. I shall be back at your disposal in no time. I have you there to swoop in and rescue me at the ready, do I not?"_

"_As if you ever need rescuing, my _prince,_" she said with a playful smile. She had taken to calling him that since he had showed her how to listen to the Tesseract. He would be lying to himself if he said he did not like it just a little bit._

"_I think the only regret I will have in becoming king of your realm is that you will no longer be able to address me as such." She looked hurt._

_"Are you going to stop me?" she asked._

_"I do not think it would be very good for my authority if you addressed me for a position lower than my station, would it?" She sighed dramatically._

_"Kings are fat and ugly. 'King Loki' doesn't sound as nice. I like prince much better. What about when we're alone?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, and she blushed furiously. "Not... that... I mean... not the we'll be spending a lot of time alone together. Especially after this is all done. I didn't mean to imply, well, anything." Her embarrassed rambling was interrupted by Loki's laughter._

_"Worry, not, Miss Lewis. I trust that my virtue is safe with you." He took her hand again quickly, placing a short kiss on her knuckles. Her breath caught in her throat at the image of his dangerous smile pressing against the back side of her hand. He gave her short wink before leaving her to her own mortification._

Going to breakfast with his brother and Darcy after they disbanded their meeting was quite a strange event, Loki had to admit. A mere four days ago, he was battling their little group with the rage of a thousand years worth of resentment. Now he was watching the two devour what were called 'pancakes.'

They must have looked like an odd group. Darcy, with her oversized sunglasses and simple light blue dress -which he grudgingly acknowledged looked very fetching on her- was occupied with some small electronic device, as usual, while she slowly ate her food. His brother, dressed in his lighter Asgardian attire, seemed determined to break some sort of record in the amount of those things that were able to be consumed in one sitting. He himself had chosen to shift into the typical three-piece suit he wore when disguising himself in Midgard after Darcy had told them on the way to the cafe they were at that if they were going to be staying, they needed to back off on the Ren-Fest look, whatever that meant. Upon seeing him shift clothes, the bulk of their conversation had been Darcy quizzing him on how he did laundry and how many outfits he could 'magic himself into.' Her words. She seemed more at ease around him than their last two encounters. He wasn't sure if she had accepted the fact that he had given up his plans or if it was still mostly the medication. She seemed, for the most part, to have pulled herself together since the meeting. The fact that she was at relative calm around him had to make him wonder. She had been on edge, to say the least, for the last two times they spoke.

He supposed being under his thrall had dropped certain barriers between them upon their first meeting. He realized the difference as soon as he allowed her to have her own mind again. She had completely shut him out, and he had been more affected by it than he would have expected, or cared to admit. Where she had once been open and playful and adoring, she had been cold and angry and suspicious. He, the so-called God of Mischief, had been wounded by the rejection of a slip of a mortal woman whom he planned to rule, along with all of her kind.

Then, of all the plans he could have concocted, he had tried to seduce her. Even their sitting at the table looking at her, he could not imagine what had possessed him to so. She certainly had her physical appeal, that he would not deny, but she held no qualities that could not be found where he had been before in lovers. Midgardians were a rather plain people, and yet he had panicked in the face of her rejection when he allowed her will to return.

Her denial had been a blow to the ego, made easier only because in the same breath she had admitted from her own mouth her attraction to him; but it had been his actions that made her refuse. He had manipulated her and taken her autonomy, forcing her to sabotage her friends. He had rubbed her attraction for him in her face. All of the horrible things she had to think about him in that moment had been true.

In truth, Loki thought to himself, he hated himself for it.

For once his self-loathing managed to overcoming his loathing for anything else. No matter how much he tried, he could not bring himself to hate her as he did his brother and father. She had done nothing to deserve it, even if she did pass the same judgement of his character. In the midst of his schemes of ruling the world, she had been some sort of... anomaly. He did not expect to find companionship in a mortal: he expected obedience. She, of course, obeyed him without question, at first. She had also been...warm. She had been funny and lighthearted. He found her...charming, in a strange way. She spoke frankly, anything on her mind coming directly out of her mouth. She described it as a condition of not possessing a "filter." He had accused the humans of being a doomed race of liars and killers. But, the fact of the matter was that Darcy seemed to do neither while he, himself, was the exact description of what he described as the problem. She had laughed in the face of his gentle threats until he no longer wished to make them. She had teased him in a manner so differently than his brother: all joviality and no mockery. She had looked at him with all the admiration he craved so much. So many times he had wanted to know what it would be like to experience her companionship physically as well; but he knew that it would be a violation even he could not commit, even though he had also been too cowardly to release her. When he had seen his brother look at her with all the concern in the world when he was trapped in that cell, it had hit him with a realization of what his own connection to her was: a false one.

Even under his thrall, her loyalty to his brother had managed to break through. Something about his brother taking even that from him was unbearable, but he realized then that Thor did not take it away. As always, his undoing came back to his own faults, no matter much he wished to blame others. It was a difficult pill to swallow. He had known looking at her in that room that he couldn't enslave her mind again. If that admiration that he so wanted was to ever be genuine, he would have to let her go. Her refusal had stung, but he couldn't bring himself to hate her for it. And even with her mind freed, she tried to get him to do the right thing, still willing to give him a chance to prove himself worthy of her praise. He had resented her for thinking herself above him, spurning her pleas. Still, he left the door open for her, unable to either listen to her or hurt her for trying to stop him. If she were wise, he had reasoned, she could go and hide under a rock until it was over and he would be in a better mind to deal with her then.

She, of course, never did what she was supposed to. When he looked to see her in the middle of battle trying to shut down his portal, he wanted to scream with rage at every single so-called Avenger who had put her there. They were either incredibly careless or were attempting to manipulate him based on whatever assumptions they made about his feelings for her, probably the latter. The truly annoying part was how much it had worked. He had actually breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his brother come to her aid.

He glanced over at her as she stared intently at the little device with which she had been occupied during his own contemplation. He saw her wince a little in pain as she shifted, and the unfamiliar threads of guilt wrapped around his stomach in a similar location he imagined her pain was. He remembered looking at the light fading from her eyes when she had thrown herself in front of his scepter to save her friend. It was a stupid move. He could have just killed him after her. She was as rash and reckless as his brother was -or had been- only with less power to get her out of trouble. He had looked down to see his own weapon piercing her stomach, her eyes dimming and every trace of rage felt like it escape through the pores of his skin. His obsession with power and glory, in that one moment, seemed the most petty thing in the world. He could not even keep himself from destroying _her_. What hope did he have, truly, in ruling Midgard? His brother's words had echoed in his head. _The throne would suit you ill, brother._

"What are you doing?" Loki asked her, having enough introspection for one day.

"Finding us a place to live."

"Wha?" Thor asked, almost a whole pancake in his mouth. Darcy shot him an amused look. At least, it looked amused from behind her sunglasses.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, _mon frere_, but we are all currently homeless. If you guys are going to be here a while, housing is an issue. My issue, as matter of fact, as your babysitter. I mean liaison. My apartment and everything in it is a part of that wreckage a couple blocks down, so that's out. I've been staying at Tony's place for the past few days; but considering how the SHIELD ship looked when you guys were done with it, I don't think having you all under roof is the best idea. Especially since Tony will probably be leaving for California soon, anyway. Fury doesn't want you so close SHIELD. So... you guys need your own place. I'll probably just get an apartment or something for the three of us so I can focus on getting you two settled before I find a place of my own. I hope you don't mind having a temporary roommate."

"Of course not!" Thor said, enthusiastically. "We shall have the best of adventures together as Mates of our Room."

"We just say roommates, here, big guy. We definitely don't want to give Tony any ammunition for remarks or Jane to..." Darcy trailed off, and Thor stopped chewing, both slowly looking over at Loki. An unsettlingly pleasant smile appeared on his face.

"Ah yes. I have yet to make the acquaintance of dear Miss Foster. What an absolute _shame_. I suppose she will be coming out of hiding soon for your dramatic reunion?"

"Brother," Thor warned.

"Oh, worry not. I mean the girl no harm. I am here to turn over a new leaf and atone for my wicked ways, am I not? And I find myself curious to meet the girl who managed to make you slightly less unbearable virtually overnight. And she must be equally eager to meet _me_. Surely we are destined to get along _famously_." Thor gave him a wary look, but was inclined to believe him. Darcy gave him a more pointed look before resuming her search.

"She should be back in New Mexico in a few month when they finish whatever she's working on with SHIELD. I'm sure she'd appreciate a visit," Darcy said. In truth, Thor did not wish to wait that long. It had already been so long since he had seen her. He looked to his brother who was picking at his food slowly, contemplating whether he wanted to eat his pancakes or not. Darcy was still searching on what she called a 'tablet' for them a residence. As much as he wished it, flying off unexpectedly and leaving them alone was probably not the best of ideas. While he did not think Loki would harm her -if he had wished her harm, he would have probably done so before _now_- he was still not completely certain of the nature of his brother's attachment to her, nor Darcy's comfort with it. It especially would not do for him to leave them when he had just promised the Avengers to protect her should the worst happen. While Loki no longer had the scepter, he was still dangerous. Alas, while he certainly had more patience that he once had, it was not his preferred virtue.

"I fear she will be cross with me," Thor said, resolving to stay. "I know not yet how to appease the tempers of Midgardian women." A mischievous smirk came across Darcy's face.

"Ah, don't worry, big guy," she said. "I'm sure if you think really _hard_ you can come up with something." Loki had to admit it was satisfying to see his brother almost choke on the food he had began shovelling into his mouth again. The God of Thunder looked annoyed at both Darcy and Loki; but as he shook his head in disbelief, he could stop a small smile from forming.

"I appreciate your confidence," he replied with as straight a face as he could muster, as he returned to his food.

"We might need get some place outside the city," Darcy said, deciding to break from her search. She finally put the tablet down and paid more attention to her food. "Since a lot of residential districts were destroyed, you can imagine what that's doing to the housing market. I'm sure SHIELD's budget will be generous; but probably not that generous. A house might be better for you guys anyway. Less people in your business. In my apartment, I couldn't move a table with the old bat in the apartment under jabbing my floor with her broomstick." The two Asgardians were able to make out most of what she was saying, for the most part.

"Will you be able to continue your work with SHIELD?" Thor asked. Darcy gave a casual shrug of her shoulders.

"I could do most of my work remotely, anyway," she said, cutting up her pancakes. "Fury mainly made me show up to the base everyday to keep me out of trouble; and you can imagine how well that worked out for him. But you guys are probably my priority now, as far as he's concerned. Interstellar diplomacy and all that. I'll be able move back to the city in a couple of weeks when you guys are comfortable." Loki watched as Darcy stared intently at her food, softly biting her lower lip. She did that during their weeks together whenever she was trying to avoid telling him something. She was truly terrible at the art of deception. He would know. He found himself curious as what she was avoiding; and believed he had an idea.

"Will you continue to work for your employers, after what they tried to do?" Loki asked politely. From the look on her face, it seemed he had, as Midgardians would say, hit the nail on the head. She stared at him for a moment, then returned her gaze to her food. "Not that I am not grateful for their assistance, of course," he continued. "Your leader did not seem pleased with the decisions of his superiors." Even Thor was watching her for an answer.

"That is on an increasingly long list of things I cannot think about at the moment," she matter-of-factly. "It depends on what Nick says, I guess," she said. "I don't think he will let that decision go unanswered. If he does, I'll worry about that then."


	10. Chapter 10

There were certain reasons Darcy had decided she wouldn't be ready for motherhood for several more years. Her limited experience with children only proved this to her with every encounter. They were helpless and couldn't take care of themselves. The made messes and didn't clean them up. They argued to test your limitations. They cried and complained about everything. Heaven help you if you had two of them. It wasn't for her, just yet. She had been too independent for too long, and it would take awhile for her to be ready to take on that responsibility.

She was beginning to have the exact same feelings when it came to trying to help two alien god-like beings live like normal people on her home planet.

Challenge numero uno had been finding a place for them to live. The first week of the new chapter in all three of their lives had been mainly driving around upstate New York house shopping. She had to look a good hour away from the city to find anything for a decent price and living space ratio. Thankfully, Nick had given her use of a SHIELD SUV for travelling with them since her Corolla had been crushed by her apartment building. Not to mention, as comical as it would have been, she couldn't have imagined Thor or Loki trying to squeeze themselves into her late sedan. She had to give up on her painkillers to stay fit to drive, sticking with good ol' over-the-counter stuff. It wasn't as effective; but she tried to keep it to herself. She knew with every hiss of pain climbing in and out of that car, she was met with the look of a hurt puppy from the person responsible for her discomfort. And he was ridiculously good at it. Of all the expressions she never expected to see from him... Technically he _shoud_ feel guilty; but she was finding it increasingly difficult to be angry with him. It was kind of an accident, she _guessed_, in the the sense that it was meant for someone else.

The first sign of trouble had to have been when Thor made a small comment about being stuck in the back seat all of the time, claiming that he couldn't see where they were going very well. She hadn't noticed Loki had taken to sitting next to her in the front, as he must have imagined was his right. She had long since accepted his entitlement complex and hadn't thought much of it; but she supposed it was a reasonable complaint for someone who was used to flying around wherever he wanted. A car could be cramped compared to the sky. She explained the rules of "Shotgun" and thought the problem would be solved. She was pretty sure they both thought it undignified at first until they realized it was a way for them to compete without actually killing each other. There was her first mistake. Let's just say, Darcy never thought she would have to specify the exact time at which shotgun could and could not be called to the God of Thunder and the God of Mischief.

Finding a house to suit them both had been hell; and considering what she had been through the past few weeks, that was saying something. Of course she hadn't really considered they were both accustomed to living in a golden palace in some kind of sky world. Unfortunately, she doubted any of those were for lease in the Tri-State area. She learned quickly to avoid the phrase 'master bedroom.' God forbid one of them have a bedroom bigger than the other. The complaining was all handled with great dignity, which made it even more annoying. Thor, while obviously trying to be a good sport about helping his brother, managed to reveal his issues through little, indiscriminate comments._ Do both rooms have their own bathing room? My hand touches the ceiling in this dwelling._ Loki was took a slightly more obvious approach to showing his displeasure._ I suppose this is technically supposed to be my punishment._

Darcy struck gold after a week and a half of looking with a two bedroom house that was also furnished. The owner had recently inherited it and had yet to get rid of the furniture, which was handy, because she had absolutely none. The bedrooms were exactly the same with two, separate, equally designed bathrooms. What was better was the basement that had been turned into a very nice living area. It was very large, and she imagined that she could just screen off part of it for her room until she moved out. When she asked them how they liked it, they both confirmed, as enthusiastically as each of them were able to express, that they liked it. Although, she was pretty sure that was because she was saying with her eyes that she would cry if she had to look for housing for one more day.

She was happy that after two weeks, she was officially out of Stark Tower. She supposed she liked Tony in the sense that she kind of wanted to slap his face when she saw him in friendly kind of way. He kind of grew on you like that. She was grateful he let her stay with him for a few weeks; but she had known she had to get out soon, as what she referred to as the _JARVIS Wars_ was about to get out of hand. Needless to say, Tony was still bitter about the whole Aqua thing (even though she felt she wasn't completely to blame for it). When it appeared she was beginning her recovery from her injury, Tony had taken it upon himself to have JARVIS play _Call Me, Maybe_ played throughout the entire night in her room. It was low enough so that she didn't want to sleep on a couch somewhere, but loud enough for her to hear it_ at all_. She had, in turn, upped the stakes when she hacked in JARVIS again to have him wake Tony up with the sound of an airhorn at 5am in the morning. Pepper was out of town, and he and Thor (with even Loki tagging along, she had noticed) had been out drinking the night before. It could not have been more perfect. She had a feeling, though, that she didn't want to be around for the retaliation.

She honestly had thought her new responsibilities would be relatively easy. Sure, there was the inevitable tension that came with being around Loki since she was still unsure of how to act around him; but Thor managed to distract enough from it. She could think of less interesting ways to spending her days than galavanting around with two Asgardians. As she collapsed on the twin bed (without even any sheets) she had bought for herself in the cold, quiet basement that was now her room, she let the exhaustion of the two weeks overtake her. There was still so much to do. All the mundane details that came with living were now matters of national security because she happened to be responsible for two superhuman beings that didn't even have driver's licenses.

* * *

Thor realized when Darcy disappeared into her small room of their new dwelling, leaving only he and his brother in the living room, how much her presence had been a constant in their lives for the past two weeks. Her seemingly constant chatter had been managed to ease the two of them into a somewhat amiable relationship, allowing them to not really have to speak to each other. She had worked very hard to make sure that the two of them were as happy as possible in their new and strange situation. They had moved into the house she had chosen that day. Darcy had cleaned and straightened the house, made sure their rooms and beds were fitted with linens and the device known as the television was hooked up before she retired mid-day. He knew she needed the rest, as she was still recovering from injuries; but her absence during the day was noticed by both of them.

A pregnant silence permeated the living room as Thor sat in the living chair across from his brother. He had to say, they looked very Midgardian. Banner had been gracious enough to take him shopping for appropriate attire, as Darcy said she didn't care how much she got paid, she was not she was not going "Pretty Woman" shopping with him. (So much of what the girl made no sense.) His brother suffered no such trouble, as he was able to make his attire appear as he wished, as always.

The longer the silence stretched between them, the louder it became to Thor's ears. Loki made enough polite conversation in the presence of others, especially Darcy. When they were alone, however, the divide between them seemed to widen by the second. He knew attempting to bridge the gap between them would not be overnight; but he didn't know it would seem so... impossible. There was so much he wanted to say and yet was afraid to breaking the timid truce on which they stood. He knew he should just leave well enough alone, but subtlety had never been his nature.

Thor was still unsure of the relationship between his two companions. Darcy had neither avoided Loki nor sought him out for the past weeks, and he the same. They were painfully neutral toward one another. Thor would have second-guessed his assertion to his mother regarding Loki's feelings if not for the occasional crack in the facade of cool indifference they sought to hold. Loki held more fastly to the doctor's order that Darcy not lift anything more than ten pounds than she did. He had more than once taken something from her hands to keep her from stubbornly injuring herself. He rarely smiled, but when he did, it was usually something Darcy was doing or saying. In return, he occasionally caught her looking at his brother with a mixture of sadness and longing. They thought he was clueless about most things, which he would admit to being less observant than most. If one knew what to look for, however, neither one of them was doing a good job of hiding it. He knew not how he should feel about it. Part of him was happy his Loki found kinship of sorts in his young friend. Another part feared what would come of it. Loki was intense in his emotions, whether it was love or hate. His love for their father had driven him to attempt to destroy Jotunheim to prove his worth. His hate had driven him eventually to his attack on the earth. Whatever the outcome, though, he would not interfere unless he thought Darcy in danger. If there was anything that he did not want to do, it was give his brother any more ammunition to resent him.

"Have you gotten to settle into your new room?" he ventured awkwardly. Loki looked at him, as he seemed to have been lost in his own thought.

"There was not a lot to settle. I do not have any possessions. But well enough, I suppose." Silence.

"Do you know where you wish to dine tonight?" Thor asked.

"I believe Darcy expressed a desire to cook this evening," Loki replied. "I figured she must have something in mind." Silence. Thor continued to look around awkwardly, searching for a topic. "Brother, you need not prop the blanket of quiet up with words," Loki continued. "I am perfectly fine with the silence."

"We use to converse much more easily," Thor said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"There are many things that have changed," Loki said in a tone unreadable to his brother. A sudden chime broke the silence. Thor recognized it as Darcy's mobile communication device that she had left on the counter. Thor stood and approached the small object. A picture of Stark with his usual arrogant smirk holding two finger up graced the front cover. He pressed the green button.

"Greetings, Stark! This is Thor... No, Darcy is asleep at the moment... No, Stark. I will not assist you in your quest for vengeance of being woken up yesterday. It is I who must live with her now. Yes, we are settled, I believe... Oh?... I would be most happy to assist! Of course... I shall be there soon." Thor very purposefully pressed the red button to end his conversation. "Loki, Stark has asked that I join him at his tower. He requested that I assist him in an experiment he has been working on. He said he needs 'serious juice.' I do not know how I can assist in such a way, but I will go."

"Very well," Loki replied, showing no sign of being pleased or displeased. Thor hesitated a moment before going to retrieve Mjolnir from his room. (Darcy had been very clear that there would be no calling Mjolnir to him in the house.)

"I shall return soon, then," he said leaving, giving one last parting glance to his new home, hoping all would be well when he returned.

* * *

It was late into the evening when Loki heard the soft creaking of the basement stairs. It appeared Darcy had woken and was about to come up. Considering it had been four hours since Thor had left for the city and he had only the television to keep him company, he was anxious for the distraction Darcy was sure to provide. Truly, giving up his machinations left quite the void in his agenda. If anything _were_ to be the end of him at this point, it would be boredom.

He waited as Darcy appeared in the living room, still shaking the cobwebs of sleep. She looked out the window, apparently noticing the lack of daylight.

"God, is it tomorrow?" she said drowsily, rubbing her eyes and plopping down on the couch next to him.

"It don't think one could actually be in tomorrow, I imagine; but if you are questioning as to whether or not the full day has passed: no. It is seven o'clock."

"Crap. I didn't even buy any food and I'm starving."

"I believe we have survived on restaurants these past two weeks. I doubt one more night will hurt."

"Where's Thor?" she asked, looking around.

"The Iron Man called him to lend assistance with something he was working on."

"Ah. Well, just us then. Are we ordering in or eating out?"

"I wouldn't not mind being out of doors for a while."

"Eating out it is. I saw a Japanese place down the street I wanted to try," she said, getting up grab the things she always took with her. "Do you mind?"

"Not in the slightest," he replied, getting up himself.

Apparently, Loki pondered, when all three of them were not together, they found it impossible to speak to one another. Darcy and Thor conversed easily enough with one another and had made effort to include him in conversation. He had found himself alone with both of them that day absolutely unsure of what to say to either of them. The entire car ride to their destination had been absolutely silent, save for whatever music Darcy chose to play. At the restaurant as they waited for their food to arrive, the silence won out once more. If he were honest with himself, he would admit he was slightly less peeved with his inability to speak with Thor than with Darcy. He felt that they had settled to a comfortable co-existence with one another; but in the face of their inability to really speak to one another without his brother as a distraction, he realized there was still a very large and proverbial elephant in the room. They would have to face it, if he wanted any kind of peace between them. He would not deny that he did.

"Darcy?" he started. She looked up from the dessert menu with which she had been busying herself to avoid talking to him.

"Yeah?"

"I have never... apologized... for hurting you. I know it seems useless now; but I would like to make the effort all the same." She continued to stare at him, surprisingly patient for him to continue. "I am... sorry to have put you in such danger and caused you so much pain, physical and otherwise. I cannot say I regret many of my actions; but nearly killing you is one that I do." Her face shifted into an expression he found himself unsure of how to interpret. All the same, it was the first thing of any substance he had said to her since she had run full speed away from him before his attack. As usual, her eyes looked everywhere but at him as she tried to respond.

"It's not useless," she said plainly, a slight shrug in her shoulders, finally bringing her eyes up to meet his. "And I... forgive you." There was a convenient pause in their conversation as they were served their food. Darcy picked up the two sticks that had come with their food. "You can ask for a fork, if you want; but if you want to do Asian food right, you use chopsticks." He watched the mechanic of how she picked up her chicken and noodles with the utensils and followed suit easily. She took a few breaths while stirring her food, seemingly gathering her courage for whatever she was prepared to say.

"I don't get you," she said. "I appreciate the gesture, I do, but why apologize to me when you could care less about what anyone else thinks of you?"

"I am... fond of you."

"I'm the least useful person you've had contact with," she said, continuing to mix her food together, struggling to meet his eyes again. "Why would you be fond of me?"

"Are you fishing for compliments, Miss Lewis?" he asked teasingly. She rolled her eyes.

"I am trying to understand where I stand with you. I..." she paused, trying to break her own tension by taking a bite of her food. She was struggling to keep the messy noodles in line. "I feel like we were friends, or something. But ever since I have... had a choice in the matter, I don't really know what to do. I don't know what was real or what was you just messing with me. All the same..." she stopping, taking a deep, uneasy breath as she closed her eyes for a moment.

"I assume you are mainly referring to what I said before I let you go?" Her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. "We can address it as well, if it puts you more at ease."

"You don't have to apologize for ever tiny thing you did to piss your brother off. I get the general-"

"I'm not apologizing for it," he interrupted. "Nor was it an attempt to anger my brother." She looked confused.

"Then what was it?"

"An honest attempt to seduce you," he said, matter-of-factly. "It was sloppier than I would have liked, I will admit. I am unused to acting without a plan. I will have to blame it on the heat of the moment." Her eyes grew until he was quite certain they would depart from her skull. What a shame that would be.

"This is you trying to put me _more_ at ease?" she asked skeptically, taking a drink of water. "As if this new living situation wasn't awkward already."

"You expressed a desire to know where we stood did you not? It is all out in the open now and you need not wonder," he said, taking a drink of wine that he ordered.

"Hardly," Darcy said, frustrated.

"Then allow me to be perfectly clear, my dense little mortal," he said. "You are the most ridiculous creature I have ever met in my over thousand years of living. You were amusing as my slave; and I wished to know what you were like when left to your own devices, and I have yet to be disappointed with my decision, despite the fact that it may or may not have cost me my plans to rule this spit of rock you call home. You were and are not without your appeal; my defeat has done little to affect my opinion in that. While I am quite certain my actions as of late would make you no more keen on accepting my offer, should you change your mind, I'm certain you would find me in an obliging mood. This planet has officially become boring."


	11. Chapter 11

Darcy felt like she was going to suffocate. Truly, she probably hadn't responded in the best way to Loki's little speech. Replying with _"Fair enough,"_ leaving money for dinner, and then leaving without a word more was probably... definitely not the best thing she could have done. What could she say? Her gut reactions tended to win out. Besides, he didn't need a car. The guy could teleport. He would find his way home.

She probably shouldn't be too offended, she thought, as she drove as fast as she possibly could legally back to the city with the windows down and music blaring. He probably thought he was complimenting her in his own, sick, twisted little brain. Maybe she should have just gone back _home_, crawled into her tiny little bed and just cried herself to sleep thinking about how much her life sucked. Her abdomen was killing her. She should have just accepted his apology and left it at that. It had been nice. Blunt, but honest. Just like the rest of what he said. Not to mention, if Loki disappeared or went all super dark side again, she would have been the one to have left him. Ugh. It was too late to turn back now, she was halfway back to the city. She didn't know where she was going or what she was planning on doing. She just needed some time alone with normal humans. Or at least just... humans. Someone who developed estrogen would probably be a plus. Ninety-five percent of her interactions for the past two weeks had been Thor, Loki, and _Tony_. She didn't consider herself a huge girly girl, but she just wanted to spend time someone who didn't try to compete with everything that walked or attempt to get in her pants in the most condescending way possible.

Sadly, her female friends had slowly dwindled over the past several years.. Jane was in a jungle somewhere. Pepper was out of town doing whatever it was Pepper did. Agent Hill... she really didn't know her all that well. She had to call her once at the facility. That was it. That left Natasha. Agent Romanov _had_ said that they could go out sometime, once. It was before the whole Chitari mess. Natasha had caught her in the agent training room and taken it upon herself to try to get Darcy out of her exercise regimen of sitting behind a computer at all hours of the day. Darcy distinctly remembered her saying after she had run her several miles on a treadmill that they should go out for a drink sometime. She could have misheard since she had been gasping for air, but she was pretty sure. At the time, Darcy viewed Natasha as some kind of role model. She was just... _cool_. All sleek and confident and badass: everything Darcy absolutely knew she, herself, wasn't. It hadn't ever happened.

Darcy took the coward's way out and texted her. She also texted Tony to tell Thor to go home if possible, and ignored the subsequent phone calls from him. Talking to Thor or Tony was on the list of things she could not handle just then. She also noted to herself that she needed to get them phones.

She had pulled into a hotel parking lot. Going to Stark's just seemed to be a bad idea. Thor was there. She didn't feel like explaining that she lost her temper with his asshat of a brother and walked out. She was just stir crazy. Loki's words of course kept ringing in her ear, as they always did. She walked into the nicely rated hotel and ordered a nicer room than she would have normally gone for. It's not like she had to pay rent with her own money, so she splurged a bit. It was a one night vacation away from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and aliens and portals and everything else she found disagreeable.

About the time she got up to her room, and flopped down in the incredibly comfortable bed, Natasha texted her back.

_Where are you?_

_At the Hilton on 6th_, Darcy replied.

_Where are they?_

_Thor Tony's. Loki hopefully went 2 go f*** himself_

_ Be there in 10._

That's why she liked Natasha. Always so in control. Never lost her cool (even if Darcy had basically just admitted she had no idea where the God of Mischief was, exactly). Unlike her, who was a disorganized mess. Fury couldn't have given her an easier job, and here she was, messing that up too. She felt like she was being whiny and over-dramatic and she _hated_ that, but was feeling a little too sorry for herself to care at the moment.

Who did he think he was? Mr. Jerkface McDaddyIssues could have just sat there and eaten his food and all would have been fine. But no. He had open his big, stupid, (perfectly kissable... stop it!) mouth and make her feel like a fool for trying to have an honest conversation with him. How was she supposed go live in the same house with him knowing he thought of as basically a potential sex toy? From the sound of it, he could have just as easily banged their waitress if the notion struck him. Hell, that's what he could be doing, for all she knew. If _she_ had been their waitress and the girl he was with had stormed out, she would have offered to help lick his... wounds... metaphorically. Well, _she_ wouldn't have; that would be horribly embarrassing, but the sentiment was there. _This planet has officially become boring._ For someone who sounded like he could sell a life insurance in an immortal realm, he certainly had a knack for pissing her the hell off.

Darcy hoped Natasha got there soon. The longer she sat there in her own thoughts the more she had thought she had acted childishly. Had he not done exactly what she asked, which was say exactly where they stood? He wanted to be... friends again... as they had before, only this time without the whole mind-control factor. Then of course had to do the equivalent of giving her a note that said "For a good time, call Loki." It was more the execution rather than the sentiment that bothered her. He had admitted he found her attractive, which, coming from a supervillain, was somewhat of an ego boost. The fact that in the same breath, he admitted it was mostly because he wanted _anything_ to do, whether it be her or play a game of poker, was just mean. Of course, what kind of sentiment should she have expected from him? Flowers and candy?

She growled into her pillow. Until two hours ago, she didn't even think of him that way. Well, she _had_, but not with any seriousness. (He was so pretty...) She had assumed the pass he had made had been to anger his brother; which was somehow more tolerable. He hadn't really known her then. She was just one more pawn to move around. So much had happened. He hadspent the past two weeks in each other's near constant presence; she had spent her waking hours trying to make his punishment as pleasant as possible despite the fact that he had run her through and tried to take over the planet, and he found it all _boring_. Being insignificant to someone who didn't really know you she could handle. For that still to be the case, though...

The knock on the door came not a moment too soon as she practically hopped off the bed and bounded to the door. She confirmed it was Natasha before opening the door. When she did, she noticed Natasha put her gun discreetly away. Darcy gave her a strange look, answered by a sly smile from the Black Widow.

"Had to make sure it was you," she said. Darcy rolled her eyes.

"Superheroes," she mumbled, grabbing her coat and jacket.

* * *

When Darcy had stood up abruptly and walked away from the table, Loki imagined she had a sudden urge to go to the ladies' restroom. He found it strange that she left more than enough money for the meal even though she had barely touched her food, but it might have been the way of things in Asian restaurants.

After ten minutes, he imagined he had said something to upset her and she was taking the time to collect herself. He had not said anything overly offensive, he thought. Darcy was sensible... most of the time. He had been as forthcoming as he knew how. While she might a little upset now, he was certain she would be fine after a few moments.

After twenty minutes, he had managed to finish eating, and was beginning to recount his words to her. Perhaps he shouldn't have called her dense; but she been able to take light insults before. He didn't think she was _dense_, just less skilled in picking up on subtlety than him. He could perhaps clarify when she returned, which should _really_ be any minute now.

After one half of an hour, he decided that the little chit had actually _left_ him there. When he walked out and saw the car they had driven in gone, anger rose in his chest like a burning acid. Mortals. More specifically, _women_. They went on and on about wanting honestly, and yet fled at the first sight of it. What had he said that was so wrong? He had both _apologized_ (a foreign concept to him in general, let alone on a voluntary basis) and then reassured her that he genuinely found her attractive. What she could have possibly been so upset about? Loki had once convinced an entire wedding party that his brother was a woman, and yet could not make heads or tails of what to tell this girl to make her satisfied. Of course, he had offered more than words to accomplish that, and had been met with opposition yet again. How disappointing. He did not what to make of her. He knew she wanted him. She told him as much; and if not for her words, her wide, blue eyes could still give her way. He couldn't imagine there was a deceptive cell in that body of hers. Of course it wasn't an opportune time to think about her body.

He easily teleported back to their home, expecting to see her there, probably locked up in her room like the child that she was acting. She wasn't there either. It was at this point Loki started feeling the the cold prickling sensation on the back of his neck which he did not care to consider for very long. It was no matter. She was a grown woman, and certainly able to look after herself. He still found himself going down to her room to check she wasn't down there, just in case. He found only her tiny little bed and dresser she was using. How she managed to make such a mess when she owned basically nothing was beyond him. He looks of disgust ended when he caught sight of some of her more lacy undergarments laid out on the dresser. He merely pursed his lips and left quickly.

Loki was really at a loss for what to do. He had not been alone since his defeat. Part of him liked the isolation: he had always tended to be more solitary. Part of him was... lonely, almost... knowing once again he had been left by other preferring to be elsewhere besides his company. He was... unsupervised. Without his brother to beat him to submission or Darcy to tell on him to his brother, who would then beat him into submission. He found it strange. He had imagined he would rebel the first time they had let down their guard.

He found himself, in spite of the irritation of his rocky relationship with Darcy, somewhat content. His relationship with his brother, day by day, was slowly being repaired. It wasn't as disagreeable as he would have thought. He had been running and hiding and plotting and planning and scheming and hating for almost two years. It had been exhausting. In spite of knowing he was in exile he felt... free. The burden of everything he felt he had to accomplish to prove to everyone that he was a worthy ruler was no longer there. He was free to be and do as he chose, away from Asgard, of course. But even that wouldn't be forever, possibly. Prove himself worthy of his title his father had said? Whatever that meant. What was his title? Loki Odinson: Prince of Asgard, God of Mischief. A perfectly sinister smile crept across his face, a lightness in his being that he had scarcely felt since the day of Thor's coronation. He was neither a hero, nor a villain. He danced on the line where fun merged with chaos, and light met shadow.

Perhaps it wasn't what Odin had intended, but Loki suddenly felt a little bit more like his old self. Openly declaring war or boldly stating his thoughts had never been his strength, which would probably explain his one failed attempt at world domination two failed attempts to seduce the girl who had slowly been creeping her way into his system since the day they met. He thought of her and the day he had held in his arms, their fingers entwined around the Tesseract, magic coursing through his veins and into her, the darkest parts of his past revealing themselves like a book falling open before her. She had seen him for the monster he was born to be and declared him to be otherwise. She had stood crying on a roof as her world crumbled around her and had told him it wasn't too late to turn back.

His mind was too calculating for the liking of most; and stating his actual thoughts, whether well-intentioned or ill, managed to unsettle. A silver tongue and a little magic had always been his method to attaining what he wanted. And he had to admit, there was most definitely something he wanted.

* * *

"I just don't get it," Darcy said, downing the second shot of tequila she and Natasha had ordered. I've spent the past two years of my life trying to turn myself into a freaking awesome programmer, and I'm stuck playing wet nurse to a war criminal."

"I wouldn't use that term," Natasha said, removing a lemon slice from her mouth. "A wet nurse was primarily meant to breastfeed. Although, I doubt you'd be met with any complaints." Darcy could only manage to look utter helpless at the smirking assassin.

"Oh, Romanov, not you too."

"Sorry, kid," Romanov said. "It's officially out there."

"Why does it feel like the only person who as appropriately weirded out by this is Fury?"

"Oh, trust me," Natasha said. "We're all weirded out by it. Watching the man we've been fighting save your life and turn on his own army is _not_ something we were ever prepared for. But it happened, and we have to deal with it, now. And... he seems like he's really trying to turn it around." She paused, cracking a one of the peanuts on their table and popping one in her mouth. "Loki has a lot of red in his ledger. He needs to find a way to wipe it out. He started with you." Darcy thought over her words for a moment. "And now he apparently has a soft spot for you... or a hard one, depending on how you look at it." Darcy sighed. Maybe confiding in Natasha had been a mistake. "I'm not going to tell you what to do. You're a big girl. He's dangerous, you know that, although I don't see him hurting you after all this. But I'm hardly one to judge. I've always had a soft spot for bad boys." Natasha leaned back on her chair, a sly smirk on her face, crossing her legs as she popped another peanut in her mouth and ordered another round for the two of them.

"You are always so confident and sure of yourself," Darcy said absently. "I'm just... so completely useless most of the time. I wish I could be more like you." Darcy didn't see the hard look that suddenly came in Natasha's eyes.

"If I ever hear you say that again, I will kill you myself," she responded. Darcy looked incredulously at her, trying to remember what she had just said while also trying not to pee herself. She was about to have her third shot of tequila, and it was a challenge.

"Sorry?" she said nervously. Romanov softened, but still remained more serious than she had been.

"I talked to Loki, when he was captured," she said. "I'm sure you saw." Darcy nodded hesitantly.

"It was cruel, what he said," she replied. Romanov looked down for a moment.

"The fact of the matter is, Loki knew what I was. What I still am. He looked at me and could have cared less for what saw. It wasn't worth preserving. Sometimes I think he was right." Darcy disagreed of course, but was afraid to say anything. The Black Widow, however not-serious, had just threatened to kill her. "Most people are just out for themselves. They're damaged and bitter. They don't care about anyone else. They know how to play the game and they play it. You though? You completely turned it around for us. For him. You were able to show him something he fel was worth protecting. It had nothing to do with what you could do. It was who you were." Their drinks had arrived and they both took another shot. Darcy shivered as it went down. Oh yes. Sweet fuzziness was coming. "What he said tonight: callous, yes. But, that's the downside, as well as the appeal, of the asshole: they're kind of an asshole. It's just a matter of when it stops becoming fun."

"I'm about to be too drunk for any of this to make any sense," Darcy said. Natasha smirked.

"Well, look at it this way," she said, her mouth a little drawn from her drink. "Have you ever had a god-like being, who was trying to repent from his evil deeds, offer to... how should I put it... activate your portal? Travel through your Bifrost? Ask you to polish his scepter?" Darcy, for the first time, merely smiled at such a comment.

"Can't say that I have."

"While I've already said how feel about you taking after my behavior: knowing a reforming bad boy has it bad for you can be pretty... intoxicating. Having power over someone with that much power?" Natasha mock shivered.

"Are you actually _encouraging_ this?"

"Not doing one or the other," Natasha replied.

"I think you're a little drunk, too," Darcy said.

"Probably."

"You actually sound a little Russian." Natasha mumbled something in Russian. "And I don't have power over Loki; and I would use the term 'reforming' loosely. The man is a train wreck."

"A hot train wreck."

"Well, yes, he is. But he's... bad news. I'd have to have some kind of emotional masochism complex."

"Then don't acknowledge it," Natasha offered. "He said he would leave you alone, but gave you an open offer that you could take or leave. Just leave it. Whatever you do, you don't need to be scared all of the time. You are a talented programmer. You had us running circles around you, unfortunately. Focus on that once you've got this done. Whatever it is you want, take charge in your life. Don't let other people run it for you."

"Thank you for coming," Darcy said sincerely. "I know it sounds weird; but I honestly don't think there was another person I could talk to. Even if Jane were in a jungle, I don't think I could." Natasha smiled, genuinely.

"Anytime," she said. "It's actually a little nice not being all catsuit and guns all the time. Just remember what I said. You are in charge now." Darcy straightened her shoulders, sitting up seriously, calling for another shot.

"This is me, taking charge."

"Hungover is unattractive. You don't need anymore to drink."

"Right."

* * *

**AN: **Hello readers! Thanks for staying with me so far. I have to admit, this has been the hardest chapter to write. I struggled with how Darcy was going to react, and actually wound up going with something completely different than what I originally intended. So, I hope you like it, and I hope it turned out the way I wanted, but I would love feedback either way. I'm always, trying to improve how I convey things.

Thank you for your reviews and requests! Requests for more Tony and flashbacks have been duly noted :)


	12. Chapter 12

**AN**: Made sure to push this chapter out tonight at the behest of a faithful reviewer :) Thank you so much. You guys are awesome.

* * *

When Thor had rushed home after Darcy had sent Tony a cryptic message, he was scared of what he'd find. He didn't truly think Loki would harm her, especially since her message did not seem panicked. Still, with his brother's mercurial nature, he simply didn't know what to expect. What he found was startling. His brother, laid out on their couch, legs crossed and propped up on the armrest, reading a book.

"Thor!" he had greeted pleasantly, instantly causing Thor to be confused, "welcome home to our charming abode." Thor eyed him suspiciously, taking a look around to find Darcy. Loki put his book down and stood, clasping his arms behind his back. "Dear brother, what has you so concerned?"

"Where is she?" Thor demanded in an even tone.

"Darcy? Oh, I suppose she's out for a spot of fresh air. She didn't really specify; and I'm not the girl's keeper."

"Why did we receive a message from her for me to head home with no explanation?"

Oh, the dear girl was probably concerned for my welfare, should I be left alone. You know how she worries." The smile on his face was one Thor had learned to mistrust well.

"And there is absolutely no reason she suddenly decided to just disappear without notice?"

"Truly, brother, she is very protective of her own freedom. You'll smother her with your questions." Thor narrowed his eyes until he heard a ringing. He picked up the from his pocket Tony had let him borrow for that he could tell him if he heard anything.

"Yes," Thor answered curtly. "Oh. Well, very good then... Very well. Thank you Stark. We shall meet again soon to finish your project. I apologize for my hasty departure." Thor closed the small phone, returning to the task of staring his brother down.

"She is with Agent Romanov," Thor told him, waiting to see how he'd react. "Darcy apparently checked into a hotel in the city for the night." Loki betrayed no surprise.

"Ah. How lovely. I suppose she misses the excitement of Manhattan."

"Loki, why is it that she took off in late evening to a hotel an hour away after I leave the two of you alone for a mere four hours?"

"Why is it you assume it has anything to do with _me_," Loki said in the most innocent, long-suffering tone he could muster. "We dined out at a place of her choosing and she left afterward. I clearly did nothing to hurt her if she is now off galavanting with the little spider. What more would you like me to say?" Thor narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"I have know the cruelties of your words, well, brother," Thor began.

"And I know yours," Loki sneered.

"I would not think you would inflict them on Darcy. She has been nothing but kind to you."

"Oh, yes. She has been most accommodating," Loki said. Thor was unable to read what he meant, only knowing there was something beyond his words, as always. He didn't like it. "I don't believe I said anything cruel to her. I _apologized_ to her for what I have done, of all things, and then complimented her the best way I knew how to do in Midgard." Thor narrowed his eyes.

"Loki," he said dangerously, "did you attempt to..." he trailed off, merely gritting his teeth.

"What is the matter Thor? What is it they say here? Something about a feline and your tongue. Midgard is ever so strange."

"You know very well what I'm asking!" Thor boomed. "It is no secret that you... pursued... Darcy before she left you."

"Finally going to address that are you. It seems to be the theme of conversation tonight. I don't see how my preference for companionship in this prison is any of your concern," Loki said dismissively.

"Is that what you call her?" Thor questioned harshly. "So it _did_ come up. So yes, then. You did. It _is_ my business when she feels like she needs to leave her home for the night. She has been inconvenienced in every possible way on our account. You needn't make her even more uncomfortable-" Honestly Loki stopped after his first sentence. Thor was usually easy to understand, but he had to think about that one. _Is that what you call her?_ What had he called her? His preference for companionship in this... prison. He thought back to the words they had exchanged in the restaurant. What had he called her then? Dense... ridiculous creature... amusing as his slave... not without appeal... he was bored. Hmm. He was beginning to lose surprise at her leaving him so suddenly. He had always considered himself good with women; behind closed doors, he felt safe considering it scientific fact. Perhaps he was a bit rusty in the art of wooing, though. He had been preoccupied for a few years; not to mention being a prince didn't really require a challenge when he wasn't. He-

"Loki, are you even listening to me?" Thor demanded.

"Most raptly," Loki said, returning his attention to his brother.

"And?" Dammit. He had asked him a question.

"I still don't see how any of it is your business," Loki said vaguely. Thor sighed. It seemed to be an appropriate response to whatever he had asked.

"Darcy deserves more than to be treated like a game for your entertainment," Thor said. "I thought you would at least respect her that much, if you care anything for her..."

"What would you like me to do, propose marriage?" Loki demanded, beginning to get irritated. Thor gritted his teeth.

"You are going from being complete cold to her to attempting to seduce her. What reaction did you honestly expect?" Loki narrowed his eyes at Thor, turning his head to the side as if to study him.

"Are you... giving me advice on how to pursue Darcy?" he asked incredulously. Thor crossed his arms, clenching his jaw once more.

"I am trying to help you to not drive away the one other person besides me who wants to help you," he said earnestly. "Why are trying so hard to oppose us at every turn?" Loki seemed to think on his words, turning and sitting back on the couch.

"I do not... oppose you," Loki said. "I simply... have hated you so long and do not know how to stop." Thor came to sit in the living chair next to him, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I know that I was... not the easiest to live with before... everything. But I _am_ trying, brother, to make it right. I'm _here_ to try to make it right." Loki looked down.

"I know," he said. "I... understand your sacrifice. I still do not think I know what to make of it." Thor nodded, content to get at least that much from him.

"And Darcy?" Thor ventured. Loki sighed.

"What is it you wish to know, Thor? I suppose this as honest as you will find me, although I have just decided to start lying to you all again. It seems it would agree with you all more."

"Do you hate her as much as you hate me?" Loki met his eyes.

"No," Loki said. "I can't imagine ever doing that."

"Then why can things not be... easier? I know she does not hate you." A humorless laugh escaped Loki.

"I would not be so sure," he said. "Don't tell me your interest in my redemption extends to my romantic interests." Thor gave a humorless, quiet chuckle.

"I care about Darcy. She was a loyal friend to Jane, and has been for me as well. I would not be... opposed to the two of you if I knew she would not be hurt in the process."

"How many times can I say that I would never hurt her?" Loki snapped defensively, leaning back on the couch.

"I do not mean physically," Thor said, standing. "I am going to bed. I will see you in the morning." Loki watched as his brother walked dejectedly to the hallway.

"Thor," he called, a war battling in his chest. He stopped, turning around. Loki was silent for a few awkward moments. "Thank you," he finally managed to say. It didn't taste as badly coming out as he thought. He watched as his brother stood shocked a moment, smiled faintly, and nodded, and disappeared into his room.

* * *

Darcy had just been starting to wake from the sweet sluggishness of having drunk just the right amount the night before when she thought she heard her hotel room door open. Natasha had gone home last night after she made sure she got to her room, so she was sure she was probably still working out some dream, since no one had been there or had a key. That explanation made considerably less sense when the loudest most obnoxiously horrid noise managed to somehow lift her two feet off of her bed.

"What the _hell_?" she screamed, not even knowing it, as she blindly looked around for what was happening.

"Good morning, cupcake," the undeniably pleased voice of Tony Stark greeted her, tossing the small air horn he had just used on the chair nearby and a bag on her bed. When Darcy finally realized what had happened, she gave her best death glare at the Iron Man was raising an eyebrow at her. "Not that I'm not enjoying the view, but I'd get dressed. Breakfast should be up soon." Darcy looked at the bag he had tossed on her bed and recognized it as the light yellow dress she had put out to be laundered the night before since is was the only thing she had. She looked down and thanked her stars she had stayed in her underwear. She quickly covered herself with her blanket, tossing Tony a glare, as she grabbed her dress.

"Ass," she said, pulling the dress over her head.

"Actually, it was your rack, but I understand since you had a little too much fun last night," he said, trying to ignore the horrible purple bruises on her stomach. Darcy just rolled her eyes, hopping out of bed.

"Dare I ask how you a) knew where I was or b) got into my room?"

"Well, after your mysterious message last night, the blonde wonder started worrying himself into a frenzy. Needless to say it was impossible to get any work done with the power source distracted, thank you. I made a few calls. Natasha let us know you were fine and she was meeting you here. As for getting in here, you'd be surprised what helping save the world can do for the cooperation of a receptionist." Darcy rolled her eyes -a compulsion apparently with Tony- walking to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

"As pleasant as I find this little visit, I'm assuming you didn't come here to piss me off and then ogle me."

"Actually, both would be worth the trouble; but you're right," he said following her into the bathroom. "I have a job offer for you." She tossed him a look from the mirror.

"Oh, yeah?" she manage to stay through the toothbrush in her mouth. "Lasht time I shecked, I had a yob." Tony chuckled.

"Yes, I'm sure whatever SHIELD is busying you with while you help babysit the Terror Twins is very thrilling," he said. "I'm talking about actual work." Darcy spit, making a point to hack as unattractively as she could. Tony winced dramatically. After she rinsed and wiped her mouth, she turned around, putting her hands on her hips.

"What did you have in mind?" Tony pulled out a set of tri-folded papers and held it with his index and middle finger in his usual blase manner. Darcy looked at him suspiciously, but took them. As she flipped through them, she recognized only a little bit of the notes; but was able to piece together the project.

"You are trying to write a new programming language for JARVIS?" she ventured.

"That would be correct," he said. She continued looking through the notes. "If you were able to bypass any part of JARVIS, there must something going on in that... weird... ADHD head of yours that I can use. I want a new language that is more efficient for other projects I'm working in. JARVIS will be the practice."

"This is lightyears ahead of anything than I've ever done," she confessed, a little sadly.

"That's what happens when you work for an organization choking out actual accomplishment. Learning is easy for those with talent, which you have, which is why I want you to come work for me." He paused as she continued looking over the notes. "We could start you after as a contract, at first, so you can still help out with our resident demi-deities, until you can become a full employee of Stark Industries."

"Working for both of you wouldn't be conflict of interests, I'm sure," Darcy said, "but this is... amazing." Tony smirked, pleased she was intrigued.

"Then just come work for me fully, now," he offered easily. "My offer is on the last page." Darcy furrowed her brows, flipping to the last page.

"Holy shit," she said.

"That was the contract price, anyway. If you come on board full time, you can add... oh... thirty percent and make it a salary." Darcy looked at him, eyes getting impossibly wider, dumbfounded. "Don't worry about catching up. I can teach you what I know, some of it should stick, and you can take it from there. I need someone reliable on a computer. Don't worry. I'm never wrong. If I am, I can still keep you on payroll to remind myself of it this one time." Excitement bubbled in her chest. Tony was an ass; but a genius ass with tech far beyond what SHIELD had ever let her touch. While she tended to insult him on a regular basis and he did the same, working with him on _anything_ would be the opportunity of a lifetime.

"This is... amazing, Tony. But... I need to think it over."

"You mean... ask Fury if it's okay."

"No," she said, trying to hide her annoyance. As always, it failed.

"Darcy, there's this policy I like to employ with Pepper. It's called asking for forgiveness instead of permission."

"I'm sure you'd love it if I choose to come work for you." Tony shrugged, hands in his pockets.

"Keeps and interesting work environment."

"I don't need Fury's permission," Darcy asserted, her conversation with Natasha fresh on her mind. "I just... think it would be fair to talk to him about it first. He has done a lot for me."

"You mean like let you get kidnapped, brainwashed, and then almost killed?" Darcy pursed her lips, taking a deep breath.

"We all made that last call, including you," Darcy said. Tony crossed his arms, trying to look bored. "None of us were prepared for Loki coming out of that portal."

"And yet he put you into constant direct contact with the very person who managed to do all three," he finished as if she had said nothing. Darcy sighed, walking back into her room. Arguing in a bathroom seemed undignified.

"Look," she said, getting her shoes, trying to redirect the conversation, "I really want to work with you. I can't tell you how much; but I can't just think of myself; and I'm not letting Nick, or you, or anyone else make my decisions for me." Tony eyed her, as if he were taking her and trying to figure out how she worked like he did with so many things. She stared back at him awkwardly, but kept eye contact.

"It that a backbone I see peeking out of you?" he questioned with mock curiosity. "I'm not sure I like it." Darcy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, try not to let it get around. I have a reputation."

* * *

It seemed like it took longer than one hour to get home. It was ten by the time she got back, and she was able to waste time buying groceries and supplies for the house she still hadn't gotten. She got things to make homemade chocolate chip cookies. That would help smooth things over. Chocolate equaled damage control.

She was thankful she still had an SUV, as the amount of stuff she needed wouldn't have fit in anything smaller. _Play it cool, play it cool_ was her mantra as she walked up the step to the house.

"Thor! Loki! I need help!" she hollered as she walked in the door. Two sets of heavy footstep came barreling down the hallway, both slowing to a dignified halt when they saw her, an anxious look on both of their faces. "The car's full. Can you help me bring stuff in?"

"Of course!" Thor said, immediately heading for the door. Darcy busied herself with getting the refrigerated items unpacked when she noticed Loki still stood there, looking at her. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether or not he was angry. He didn't look angry. Just... expectant.

"Your leftovers from last night are in the refrigerator," he said. "They came and wrapped it in that shape of a duck for you. I thought you would want it." She stared blankly at him, an unnamed feeling welling up in her chest, feeling like a total bitch just then. _Play it cool._

"Thank you," she said, please her voice hadn't cracked.

"I trust you... had fun?" he asked after a few moments as she continued to unpack groceries slowly. She smiled a bit.

"I did," she said, nodding. "It was nice hanging out with a friend." Loki nodded in confirmation, a hesitant look returning her smile.

"I am glad," he said. "I hope, one day, to be able to... hang out... with a friend as well. It... sounds nice."

"Well I bought a few movies," she said, her smile growing wider and secretive, a single eyebrow raising a bit. It had been a while since he had seen that expression. "We can, like, eat popcorn and paint each other's toenails. It'll be fun." She gave him one last amused look as she turned to finish unpacking the kitchen. Loki finally let himself return her smile, even though she could not see it, watching as she tried struggled to put something on the top shelf of a cabinet. He met his brother coming in on his way out, hands full of bags.

"Do not, trouble yourself, Loki. One more trip and I shall have it done," Thor boasted. Loki grinned at the slight tease in his brother's voice as the two brother's shared and unspoken, centuries old language with their eyes.

_Everything is fine. _

_For now._


	13. Chapter 13

Two months after Darcy's anticlimactic return, the trio sat comfortably at the breakfast table when there was a ring a the door bell. Thor was quite sure Darcy was on her feet, tearing to the front door before the chime had even finished. He shared a confused look with his brother, who had even looked up from his book to see what the girl was up to. They both got up, much more casually, making their way to the door to see a delivery person of some sort carting in several boxes of several shapes and sizes into their living room. Thor continued sipping the coffee still in his hand as Darcy was positively beamed at the stranger. He handed a clipboard to her.

"Sign here please," the man said stoically. It contrasted with her rather obvious excitement.

"If you could put it downstairs, please," she said. They watched as he disappeared into down into Darcy's designated living space. She turned to see Thor and Loki looking at her strangely, face lit up with a grin.

"Have we missed something?" Thor asked amused, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Yes," she said proudly. "I'm going to make a new baby." The near spit-take she caused for the blonde would have to be filed away under her greatest accomplishments.

"I believe they do things even more differently in Midgard than I thought," Loki said amused, fighting the original urge to ask if she needed a volunteer. She had recently taught him the phrase, "too soon." He thought it appropriate.

"I'm building a new computer," she clarified, grinning. "The first one I ever built was sadly, taken from me, in a tragic apartment collapse. I shall be complete once more when when this one is finished," she finished dramatically.

"It is probably for the better," Loki said with a straight face, headed back to the table with his brother. "Second-borns tend to be improvements on the first." Thor gave him a pointed look as Darcy followed them.

"Not touching that one," she said, grabbing her bowl of cereal and disappearing downstairs. She reappeared a few minutes later.

"Sorry, I forgot. I got you these," she said, hurriedly tossing them both objects. Had they been other beings, Thor would have been hit in the face while Loki would have been lunging to the side. They both caught the the mobile phones she had apparently ordered for them with ease as she disappeared downstairs again. "Let them charge first!" Loki looked and realized that Thor's had a red cover while his had a green. He smiled.

Thor's phone kept him occupied for much longer than Loki, who preferred keeping to books he had gone out and purchased for himself as well as ones that Darcy had brought him. While he recognized his rather uneasy position with the Avengers and SHIELD, his routine set up with his brother and Darcy had become tolerable, even pleasant. They had acquired driver's licenses and standard identification for citizens from SHIELD, discreetly, although Darcy suggested they not drive until they had at least had a few lessons. It had allowed him a certain amount of freedom to go into town and buy things that he wanted. He found it preferable to being bound to their dwelling all day. To alleviate their boredom, Darcy had made a point to do 'fun things.' She took them to see a museum of art, which he much enjoyed. She took them to baseball game of some kind, which Thor enjoyed.

It was a strange feeling when Darcy drug them out to be around the swarms of humans, pretending to be an equal. His brother seemed to love it. He, himself, sometimes didn't mind, able to ignore the crowds enough. Other times, he even found he liked the simplicity. Most times though, he hated it. He wondered how they could look at him and not tremble in fear as they had mere months before. He had not bothered to disguise himself. His face had been broadcasted on national television. Darcy explained that it was a quality of humans. They saw or didn't see what they wanted to see or not see to get through the day and into the next. He didn't know whether to admire or despise them.

He felt like what Banner had called the Avengers: a timebomb just waiting to go off. The rage within him still felt as if it was simmering just below the surface, and it was only a matter of time before he gave in. He felt like his entire being had been cracked and pasted back together with a weak glue that would melt with too much heat and pressure. He tried to think of many things, when his dark thoughts felt as if they would overtake him. He thought of his mother, softly crying into his hair, begging him to return home safely. That was the most powerful one. He thought of his father, laying a hand on a shoulder before he walked away, disappointment weighing heavily on his older form. He thought of his brother, holding desperately to that scepter as they dangled off that bridge, pain carved into his face when he let go. He had been too blinded by anger to recognize it then; but his brother truly loved him. It was a strange realization.

And then there was _her_.

In his other life, he would have never noticed her. If she hadn't been in that facility and useful to him in that one moment, she could have been very well crushed beneath the rubble of her home. As Fate herself would have it, she had been there, she had been useful, and the rest was all her. Those times among so many humans, flooded with sensations of complete and utter disgust, as if she could sense when he was at his weakest, he would feel her small hand on his arm. He would turn to see blue eyes staring at him, both encouraging and somewhat fearful. Her smile sad, but eyes hopeful, she'd pull him along, forcing him to go one more day without hurting anyone. One day closer to his redemption. His _redemption_. It seemed like a foolish dream; but when she looked at him that way, like in spite of the pain he had caused her he was still... _worthy_. It eased that threatening chaos from consuming him, for just a little while. It was ridiculous, really. She was a silly, mortal girl and he and immortal, powerful being; but they were connected, and it was too late to sever it now.

Darcy sighed tiredly when in the late afternoon, she was on her fully functional computer. A satisfied smile was on her face. She had buried herself in her 'room' all day; but it was worth it. Of course, regular access to Facebook was not the thing she wanted. No. She was about to get herself to a whole lot more trouble than that.

She had been prodding Fury for the entire two months since starting to help Thor and Loki on his progress with uncovering answers about why the Council had made that call. It didn't make sense. No one in their right mind had been willing to risk nuclear warfare on an enemy, let alone on themselves. In the confusion of Loki and Thor and Tony and everything, that burning question had been eating at her gut: why? She couldn't help thinking that... someone... had something to gain. Otherwise, it made no sense. Tony's job offer also weighed heavily on her. Darcy bubbled with excitement every time she thought about working with Tony at Stark. She still hadn't told Fury she was thinking about leaving. The longer he went without giving her answers, the more she was inclined to leave.

And so, her first act to break in her new favored computer system, would be to attempt to break into Council files and see what she could pick up. Probably nothing, but it was worth a try. She doubted she could glean much more than maybe some telling correspondence. Not too much trouble. Maybe just something to help her sleep at night knowing she still worked for SHIELD. She loved Nick, and believe in him and knew he believed in the work he did, however ruthless he could be. The rest of them, however, she could do without.

Tony's installation of JARVIS on the SHIELD's network had laid the groundwork she needed to take it a step further. Her eyes were bleary by the time she actually got her network ready to avoid and tracers to her poking around on their mainframe. She set up a relatively benign program that would slowly decrypt files from the Council. It would not be nearly as efficient as JARVIS, it could take days if not weeks, but she could occasionally check on it to see if anything interesting would pop up.

She managed to drag herself up the stairs, tired and starving, not having left her room since early that morning. As she passed the living room, she saw Thor was sitting on the couch watching a baseball game, a bowl of popcorn in his lap, and Loki was nowhere in sight. She came up to lean on the wall when Thor finally turned to acknowledge her, smiling.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," she said, taken in his plaid shirt and jeans. He smiled, shrugged his shoulders and looked back to the game as she came to sit beside him, snagging popcorn from his bowl.

"Two years ago, I would have been crawling out of my skin to fight something," he admitted. "The ability to simply... be... agrees with me for the moment."

"I guess the breather is nice for us all," she said, leaning back into the couch, attempting to catch popcorn that she tossed up with her mouth. "Did Loki go out?"

"Looking for more books, as usual. I forgot how much he used to love to read." He paused, seemingly struggling with something. "Have your attempts at procreating been successful?" She laughed.

"Yup. Baby Number Two is online and running,"she said, still smiling, popping a piece of popcorn in her mouth. Thor was silent a moment. It was never difficult to tell when he was struggling to put words together. He was as bad at subtlety than she was.

"Stark tells me that he has asked that you go work for him." Darcy froze, sighing deeply...

"He certainly broke out the big guns by telling you," she said, her empty hands crossed over her stomach.

"Have you decided what you will do?" he asked. She leaned forward, running her fingers across her scalp to relieve tension.

"It would be... an amazing opportunity for me," she led with. "I could learn more with Tony than I could ever hope to with SHIELD. And I can't get a word out of Nick on the status of the Council and their decision to nuke us into the next holocaust. I don't know how much longer I can ignore that." She paused. "And... you guys are doing fine. You won't need me for very much longer, if at all."

"Darcy," he tried to interrupt.

"It was nice," she continued emphatically, not letting him interrupt, "to be useful for a while. Especially to a bunch of superheroes. But... pretty soon I'll just be... regular old Darcy again. And it will be kind of silly for me to be here, with the two of you, won't it?" She thought a moment. "I feel like, maybe, with Tony, I can find my own... thing, you know?" They were silent a while.

"We need you for more than just showing up how to cook without burning down the kitchen, you know." She smiled wistfully. "Darcy you... I can't tell you what you've done for us. You've-" He was cut off as Loki walked through the door. They knew their conversation would have to wait.

"I see the riveting display of sportsmanship still occupies the television," Loki said, setting his bags down.

"What'd you get me?" Darcy asked expectantly. He smirked, reaching into the bag and pulling out a box, handing it to her. "Ooh!" she said, surprised at him actually handing her sometihng, looking at the box. "Chess? Pbbbbbt," she said, setting it down beside her. "Bo-ring."

"You could use some exercise in discipline in the entropy-inducing muscle you call your brain," he said. Darcy shrugged her shoulders when her phone started ringing. She lifted herself up a few inches to get her phone out her her back pocket. She frowned, not recognizing the number.

"Hello?" she said. "Jane?" she said, standing to her feet in milliseconds, "Jane?" She turned to look at Thor, he eyes trained on her. "Jane! You're home! At the airport. Oh. close then. Yeah, you were gone a while. So you're back in New Mexico?" Darcy began pacing, as she usually did on the phone. "Okay. So, you're staying there? Oh, okay. That makes sense. Oh okay. No, I'm sure you're tired. No, I'm glad you called. Okay, um. Yeah! Have a good a night. I'm sure the jetlag is killer. Okay. Bye." She turned, eyes fixed on the two men in the living room. Thor looked like he was about to go everywhere at once. Loki seemed mildly interested, but busied himself putting his book away to his growing book collection.

"She is in New Mexico," Darcy confirmed unnecessarily. "On her way back to the site." Thor himself began pacing, unsure. excitement painted on his features.

"I must," he started, but began pacing again, not finishing.

"What are you waiting for?" Darcy said.

"I, am not sure," he said.

"Well, go get her!" she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Thor looked at Loki, who smiled at him surprisingly.

"Do not look at me," he said. "I believe you have been separated long enough on my account. I'll not take responsibility for it any longer."

"See?" Darcy said. "We'll be fine without you, Brother Bear. I've got to take time out of my day to kick your brother's ass in chess. It's going to be ugly. Go." Thor could not stop the beaming from his face has he grabbed Darcy up in a crushing embrace as he nodded to his brother.

"I shall return... at the earliest convenience," he said, picking up Mjolnir at the door, a smile on his face as he walked out. Darcy and Loki followed him out the door, watching as he spun his hammer, readying himself for flight. He looked back at them one last time, face lit up with excitement, and then tore into the skies. The flannel kind of took away from it, really. Darcy and Loki stood there for a few moments, absorbing his loss. The sun was setting and it was raining softly. They hadn't noticed with the shocking new development and hasty departure of Thor. The isolation of the two of them, however, no longer seemed as impossible to deal with.

"'Kick my ass' in chess, I believe you said?" Loki started when Thor had disappeared.

"You heard me," she said.

"You would be lucky to make seven moves against me, girl," he replied.

"You might beat me in chess," she said, turning to go inside. "But I will always win at trash talk."

"Is this supposed to be some sort of accomplishment?"

"It manages to annoy you... so yes," she said, resuming her spot on the couch. She watched with exaggerated boredom as he broke out each piece.

"Loki, this is the most boring game in the history of forever," she said, turning the television to something more interesting than baseball. Ugh. She'd miss Thor, but she would not miss ESPN. "How about Yahtzee? I have a dice roller on my phone." He scoffed.

"Dice," he said in the snobbiest voice she'd ever heard (and she had heard a lot of them). "All chance and no skill. Chess is the game of kings."

"I thought I told you I like you as Prince Loki better?" Loki froze as he watched Darcy search the television for something she liked, blissfully unaware of how her words affected him. He remembered that particular incident clear as day, as it was the one and only time he'd been able to put his lips on any part of her, no matter how innocently, a state of being he long wished to correct. She had taken to calling him her prince, afterward, with all the adoration he had so craved from another person. She hadn't called him such since her she had left him. To hear her reference that part of their relationship so casually was... new. She landed on the dinosaur film she seemed so fond of and that always seemed to be on. What a perfect complement to feeling the currently coursing though his veins, he thought sardonically: a bunch of loud reptilian creatures screaming at them all night. She looked at him, realizing he hadn't responded. "Shall I take your silence as defeat, and break out the dice?"

"Never," he declared, pushing the board between them. She pouted.

Loki was incorrect. He didn't beat her in seven moves. He beat her in four, much to her chagrin. When he declared "Checkmate," she had stared at the board disbelievingly before throwing a piece of popcorn at the God of Mischief, which he caught easily with his mouth. In spite of her irritation, the sight of his tongue darting out to catch it sent some not-so-unpleasant feelings to the bottom of her stomach. He didn't have to move that many pieces back to set up the board again.

"You know, Banner is probably a better opponent for you; although I'd hate to see what would happen if you beat _him_ in four moves." Loki smirked, but made no reply. "Tony seems like a chess kind of guy."

"And he _is_ rather fond of me, is he not?" he said sarcastically. Darcy shrugged.

"It might be nice, you know. You could... go... try to be friends with people."

"I have no interest in joining your little club." Darcy rolled her eyes, making her first move. She was white again, of course, so went first.

"I wasn't asking you to. It just might be nice being able to talk to other people. I know Thor and I drive you crazy." He merely focused on the completely lack of strategy she was employing. Time passed with no response. She managed to make it to six moves. "Well," she began again, "I'm going out with Natasha and Barton tomorrow. I was going to say you were welcome to come; but I understand if you don't want to."

"You mean you are leaving me here all by myself?" he asked, a hint of teasing in his tone. "I didn't think you trusted me. Check." She arched a fine brow at him, taking her tenth turn.

"I doubt if you actually wanted to cause trouble,_ I_ could stop you," she said. "I just don't want you to feel left out." He offered her a small smile.

"Any place you were going in particular?" Darcy shrugged. "Checkmate."

"Natasha thought we could go dancing or something fun neither of us ever really do. I understand if it is not your thing."

"From what I can tell, Midgardians do not dance, they simulate rutting in public."

"So rutting isn't your thing?" she questioned with a straight face.

"Anything that requires no skill is not my... thing." She couldn't hide the smirk this time. It disappeared when he set up the board again.

"This is unfair. We've played _two_ of your stupid games."

"One more and we will play this Yahtzee of which you speak."

Of course he had been able to talk her into three additional games. Even though she proved no challenge, the conversation was nice. By that time they switched to her game, it had devolved into the two of them sitting next to each other watching the sequel to their original movie, taking turns on a program she had on her phone. He remained still as possible as he felt her slowly drift off into slumber, her head slowly coming to rest on his shoulder. He managed to shift into a more comfortable position so that her she came to rest on his chest. She was an abnormally heavy sleeper. He was surprisingly thankful for that rather inconvenient quality at that moment. He would transport her to her room. That was the wisest course of action. Still, the closeness of her, was... gratifying. Of course when he had imagined her nearly laying atop him, other images had come to mind. This was... pleasant as well. He did not know what reaction she would have to wake and realize she had fallen asleep in the arms of a monster.

_The monster parents tell their children about at night._

He chose not to find out, gingerly picking her up and teleporting her to her room. A less graceful creature would have stumbled over all the boxes scattered across her floor. She was such a mess he couldn't help think as he laid her down on her bed, pulling the blanket over her. _I don't know what happened on Earth to make you. so. soft. Don't tell me it was that woman._ Oh, how the tables had turned on him. He was suppose to be ruling this planet, not tucking a mortal into bed. What was it she had said? _Fate is a tricky whore_. She was, and she was probably laughing at him that very moment. Looking down at the soundly sleeping brunette, her hair spilling out over her pillow, tucked tucked tightly into her small bed, he could not quite find it in himself to care.

He was about to teleport out of her room when he caught sight of her computer that she had left on. He wondered if she had meant to turn it off when he realized she had left something running. Curiosity peaked, he went over to her screen to see what she was doing. He had learned that basics of computers in her time with him before his attack. He still knew relatively little. It looked like she was searching through SHIELD files; he could tell that much. He couldn't really understand what she was looking for specifically and most of it seemed like it was nonsense; but he did notice a lot of instances of the word "council." That couldn't be good. He looked back at her sleeping peacefully. The girl was a little too clever for her own well-being sometimes. It was going to get her into trouble.


	14. Chapter 14

Loki declined Darcy's offer to go out with her, Natasha, Barton, and the Rogers (who had been added into the mix). He did, however, offer to teleport her to the SHIELD building where she was meeting them and then offered to teleport her home if she wanted to call him when she was done. It was kind of one the of the sweetest things he'd ever done. She couldn't help thinking how awesome it was to finally start reaping the benefits of being roommates with two demi-gods.

She had to admit, the past few months had been nice. Since the restaurant incident, Loki was still... Loki, in most respects. He still made biting comments about humans and the Avengers in general. He was still arrogant and had a bit of a (read: huge) superiority complex. Luckily, he had only made the mistake of waking her up to make breakfast once. But besides that, he had been, well, nice. Charming, even. He watched movies and went out with her and Thor. Sometimes, it even felt like they were having a good time. Thor had once described him as a fun-loving person. He didn't get the name God of Mischief randomly. She hadn't been able to see it before. Lately, though, she had noticed it peeking out here and there. Even when Thor had flown off to reunite with Jane the night before, it had been easy in his company.

When she saw him disappear with a parting smile, a sense of anxiety rose in her, hoping he would stay out of trouble. He had a phone. She could call him to check up on him, she _guessed_. She was a little sad he wasn't coming with them, but a little relieved at the same time. Less chance of an argument with Barton or Rogers. Plus, she wasn't sure how comfortable she would be in front of him with the dress she had safely tucked away in her bag that she planned on wearing. Darcy was pretty good at ignoring most things she didn't exactly know how to handle. But even she had to admit the tension between the two of them could be cut with a knife. He had tried to seduce her twice and she had turned him down both times for many reasons, including being a monumental ass. She would have thought he had lost interest her, being a silly mortal and all. The fact that he still looked at her sometimes like he knew what she looked like without her clothes on, or wanted to, told her differently. It made getting dressed in a dress Natasha had picked out for her difficult at home.

She hadn't been in the SHIELD building since the meeting to decide Loki's fate; and that visit was muddy in her memory. Natasha and Barton were still... doing whatever Natasha and Barton did when they weren't assassinating, and she had set aside time to get ready there. It was after six, so most of the staff had gone home. Peace time allowed regular hours, thankfully. There were a few people she recognized she waved to. One person she was surprised to see turn the the corner down the hallway toward her was Erik. He had a stack of papers he was examining, but looked up when he saw her, stopping in his tracks. She smiled widely.

"Dr. Selvig!" she greeted warmly.

"Darcy," he greeted back, resuming his walk to her, slowly. They met in the middle in a tight hug, him crunching his papers in his fists. "It's been so long since you've been back," he said. She pulled away to look at him.

"Yeah... I guess it has. I've been so busy with Loki and Thor, I haven't even noticed I haven't been here that much." Erik nodded, a hidden emotion behind his eyes.

"Yes," he said. "I suppose you have had your hands full."

"Well, I don't know if you knew, Jane called. She's back in New Mexico." Erik nodded.

"Yes. We were updated on her status last night. She gave me call as well."

"Well, you can guess who took off to join her last night," she said, smiling. Erik did not seem to return her sentiment. Darcy grew uncomfortable with his silence. "Geez, Dr. Selvig, who pissed in your corn flakes?"

"Thor... left? You're... alone? With Loki?" he questioned. Darcy arched an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. I've been living with the both of them, and when one is gone, that leaves me with the other."

"That... I thought Thor was staying here so that he could make sure..." He left a few too many seconds open with no words.

"What? Loki didn't try to kill me again?" Erik looked agitated, and Darcy tried to give him her best reassuring face. "I know it has to be weird since you haven't been there to see the progress, but Loki has really come a long way. I don't see him prancing around in a white hat any time soon; but he is keeping most world dominate-y tendencies to a minimum."

"Have you told Director Fury of Thor's absence?"

"He just left last night. It's not like it's an emergency." Despite his questioning, Darcy couldn't get irritated with him. Heck, the second to last time he had seen her, she was getting impaled by the man in question, who had been aiming for him. Maybe she should have her head examined.

"I'm sorry," Erik said. "I know you have been working with them far more than any of us; but, he's not a lost puppy, Darcy. I've worried about you. I feel like I've been waiting to be told something else had happened to you." Darcy was silent, not sure what to say as she heard the emotion bubble up in his voice. It was unusual, coming from him, concerning her at least. "I was never able to tell you..."

"Don't," Darcy said. "I'll start crying, and I'm going out to have fun for once. I don't need puffy eyes." Erik attempted a weak smile...the same smile he always used when she said something very, well, Darcy, in a tense situation. "It was difficult at first. I know what he's done. I haven't forgotten that he killed a lot of people and I thought I would never forgive him for that. But, I feel...safe, for the most part. I think he genuinely is trying to change, even if he doesn't have it all figured out yet. If I keep holding that over his head, if we keep treating him like a monster, why would he want to be any different? The guy has to have someone in his corner once in a while. I guess under normal circumstances I'd think he should be imprisoned or something but...he's too powerful to just lock up and throw away the key." Erik still appeared incredibly uncomfortable.

"Well," he said, "I can't say I like it; but, if you are... still okay with the situation, I have little say in the matter."

"Okay, well, Natasha should be done soon. I was going to go get ready." Darcy wanted to be gone.

"Yes, well," he said. "Have a good time. Rogers could use some time to unwind after this tension with the Council. It's really getting to him." Him and me both, Darcy thought. They waved goodbye as Darcy made it to the completely empty locker room. It was strange not seeing it full of agents finishing with training. Showering and doing her hair in privacy was a nice reprieve from roommates, especially with the thoughts going through her mind. Of course now she felt silly going out and trying to have a good time when the war criminal for whom she was responsible walked freely. If she were smart, Darcy thought, she would be as uncomfortable as Erik was. He was right. Despite how she tried to treat her duties as of late, she wasn't caring for some loss stray. She was trying to aid in the rehabilitation of a cold-blooded killer. Coulson's killer. It was hard to think of Loki like that, anymore. This new Loki. The charming, funny, suave prince who was actually kind to her. The kind of Loki she knew when she was...

Brainwashed. Perhaps he was just trying another approach to the same end. It certainly felt effective. Maybe she was fooling herself. It was easier to live in her situation if she could pretend he was someone else now. It was her job now. She was the little sacrificial lamb, wasn't she? Loki wouldn't kill her. Fury and Thor knew that; and they were using it to their advantage as a way of keeping him in check. It was hard to be mad at Thor: he would do anything to try to help his brother, even if it meant dragging her into their world. With the mounting secrecy regarding the Council, it was easier to direct her anger at Fury.

Anger suddenly boiled within her. She was angry at the world and at herself. She was angry for being used like one of Loki's chess pieces moved so skillfully across the starkly black and white board, trying to bait Loki into being a good little demi-god with the promise of _her_ being there to help him. She was angry at Loki for being not being either all evil or all good so that she could move on from either one. She was, most of all, angry at herself. Angry for refusing to see Loki for all that he was: terrible and beautiful and broken into so many pieces, she doubted anyone could ever put him back together. Thor would try, but Loki wasn't ready for that, not from him. His father had left him to fend for himself, once again. She understood what Odin was trying to do, she really did; but she just couldn't see it working. It wasn't swim or sink with Loki: it was swim or destroy the entire damn planet.

The fact was Loki had done terrible things; and she was drawn to him just the same. She hated every impulse she felt growing in her daily to take him and try to squeezed every drop of anger and bitterness and betrayal out of him. It was a foolish girl's desire, he had said, to attempt to heal him. She just wanted it to be easier. She just wanted not to torture herself so much.

She sighed heavily, taking out her dress from her bag, officially done thinking for the evening. A short, spaghetti strapped red dress with a black lace bodice covering it was to be her attire. The back of it was pretty much non-existent, composed of mainly just thin black straps. Natasha had picked it out shopping the week before. It was definitely not her typical style, but hanging out with the Black Widow had painted a bit of a sultry streak in her wardrobe. As her stomach had healed, she had slowly been able to replace her clothes in the same style of cargo pants, tunics, leggings, with knit hats and sweaters she preferred. Recently, though, she'd taken this page from Romanov's book. It was a change from her usual multiple layers, but she could handle it this one time. Natasha had called her that morning and told her that they had talked Rogers into coming out with them so they could teach him how to dance. Apparently it was this whole big thing for him. Darcy assumed that left most clubs out, if they wanted to keep the Captain's head from exploding. As much as she hated agreeing with Loki on anything, bumping and grinding against strangers wasn't really her thing, and she seriously doubted it was Captain America's.

Darcy gave herself an appreciative glance in the mirror as she bent down to replace her flat slip-ons with the four-inch strappy heels. If Natasha did ever get her killed, it would be from getting her to wear these shoes. When she rose up, she gasped to see that the deep red within the black lace had somehow turned emerald green.

"I believe you have nightclothes less revealing than that," she heard just as the gooseflesh and tingles began crawling down her spine. She narrowed her eyes in the mirror as Loki appeared from behind the lockers behind her, casually leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest. She took in the outfit he conjured for himself since he had left her not an hour ago. Green button down shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, black blazer. His recently cut hair hung just below his ear. That was new since one hour ago. God, he looked good. Most times, she was able to ignore how good he looked. Now was not one of those times. What was he doing there?

"Are you complaining?" she questioned flippantly. "I don't recall you dying my PJs."

"It wouldn't be as tragic for your PJs to be such a regrettable color," he said, approaching her. She stiffened in a mixture of hesitation or excitement, she wasn't sure. "I was curious as to why you chose to wait until you were here instead of dressing for the evening at home. Did you not wish me to see you in this little number?" She smirked, trying extremely hard to hide her nervousness. What had she just explained to herself? He was dangerous. They could try to be friends. Friends. Friends were nice. There were few to no ill consequences of being friends. Friends did not come up to stand right behind her to examine what she was wearing from that particular angle, though. Perhaps she should tell him. She turned around to face him, giving her a reprieve from feeling the warmth of him pressed against her back.

"It apparently didn't matter what I wanted, now did it? You did as you pleased, as usual." He smiled. She had to admit, if this was yet another personality he had developed for the sake of manipulating her, it was her favorite one yet. She didn't know what to do with him being all... whatever this was. "Nice haircut."

"I always do," he said. "And thank you. Does it, what were your words, make me look less homicidal?" Darcy raised an eyebrow, giving him a purposeful once over.

"It's nice," she admitted. "Does this mean you're coming with us?" she asked.

"Why not?" he said. "I imagine teaching a ninety-year old virgin to dance must have at least some amusement to behold," he said as she broke out her make up bag, turning back to the mirror.

"I don't even want to know how you found that out," she said, trying to not be so self-conscious as she applied what little cosmetics she normally wore. She refused to ask him not to watch her.

"Yes, well, we wouldn't want your bear cub to be without a willing instructor, would we?"

"I think you are trying to say 'cub scout,'" Darcy said, applying her lip gloss. She paused suddenly as she realized why his tone had seemed so strange. "Are you... jealous?"

"Please, mortal," he said in the most condescending way possible. "As if I would ever be jealous of the least impressive of your little toy soldiers."

"And that's why you changed your mind at the last minute, followed me into the locker room, dyed my dress your favorite color, and brought up his lack of sexual experience within about five minutes? Are you planning on pissing a perimeter around my table when we get there?" Had she just rendered him speechless? His mouth was slightly ajar. That was satisfying. She returned to the mirror, applying a thin layer of earth toned eyeshadow.

"I believe your ship has sailed, Miss Lewis. Perhaps you should have taken me up on my offer while I was still interested. Do not mistake antagonism for fancy any longer." The words would have stung slightly more than they did if she hadn't been quite so sure he was just mad she had totally called him on his shit. She was also pretty sure the face he was making could be classified as a pout. She could take his words at what they were as a chance to forever let this aspect of their relationship go for all the reasons she had been telling herself before he had shown up. She should have run the internal monologue she had been channeling again, and she might have been more reasonable.

Some part of her, however, was having just a little too much fun. She was tired of being manipulated, and this was the last straw. What was it Natasha had said about the appeal of bad boys? It was intoxicating knowing that she -powerless, silly Darcy- was causing him problems with a capital 'P.' A flash of indignation at the whole situation straightened her spine as she shrugged.

"I guess it's my fault then," she said. "Well, it's a good thing we're going out tonight. Since I'm supposed to help the Captain America learn how to dance, maybe I can teach him another thing or to about the twenty-first century." For a moment, she had wondered if he was even still there. She yelped as she was spun around more quickly than she could get quite have a handle on. Loki had her pushed back up against the vanity counter she had been using, either of his hands on the counter, effectively trapping her. Darcy wondered if she had officially just cracked under pressure, but she was far from fearful. Although Loki's eyes were little up with fury, she somehow managed to conjure the ovaries necessary to smirk at him. For once completely confident in the fact that he wouldn't hurt her and she was driving him crazy in a much more fun way, she couldn't help thinking the Black Widow was right. This was fun. Maybe it was the dress.

"You have made it a habit to play with forces much bigger than you, my pet," he almost whispered. Her eyes hardened defiantly. "Do you think it wise to tease me and then pull away as if you are some treat to be denied me? I grow tired of your games."

"Isn't that what I am?" she demanded, pushing him up against him, freeing herself from the trap between him and the counter. He, surprisingly, relented, allowing himself to be pushed back. "Something they dangle in front of you in a sadly misguided attempt to control you? You don't think I know what they're doing?" She pushed herself away from him, busying with packing up all of her things back in her bag... angrily. "I know you do. Place a twenty-three-year-old junior programmer in to take care of the reforming bad guy with severe emotional instability. One who has attempted to sleep with her previously and saved her life during his own attack. Even I am more subtle than that. The only thing I don't get is why you allow it." She slung her bag over her shoulder, taking and shoving it to an unoccupied locker, slamming it shut. "And you are a fine person to complain about games." She didn't know why she attempted to leave, as if he would ever let her have the last word. When she felt his large hand around her arm, she expected another biting tongue lashing courtesy of Loki Odinson.

Well, it wasn't exactly a tongue lashing.

It was the moment that had seemed inevitable since she woke up and realized he had switched sides, keeping her from dying in the process. Every touch, every suggestive tease they had shared since they met, control-y stick or no, seemed to flash in her mind's eye the moment when Loki's mouth met hers in one furious answer to her little tirade. It wasn't a soft and gentle request for completion she felt most kisses were. No, not Loki. It was a burning and demanding challenge. Hell, both their eyes were open at first as if he dared her to pull away from him. She would have that that would have been awkward, the eyes open thing; but she just felt heat pool in her stomach, and other unmentionable places, at his scrutiny as their lips moved against one another. She let her eyes drift closed as Loki took that as her acceptance, deepening their kiss as he slid his tongue across her bottom lip. She heard herself make some sort of noise as her knees buckled.

For the life of her, she wished she knew what had happened; but she wasn't on the floor and Loki had her sitting on the vanity away from which she had just stormed, pressing himself between her open knees. She briefly panicked about how short her dress was; but the fears evaporated when she felt his warm hands on her nearly bare back. She finally let her fingers snake though his now slightly shorter hair as she had wanted to do for quite some time, grabbing two handfuls of it as she pulled him closer. It had apparently been his turn to make a noise against her soon-to-be bruised lips. Darcy had never really thought kissing was a particular skill. It was just kind of a thing people did. When felt his tongue slide into her mouth to move against hers, she knew differently. Like everything Loki did, it was all finesse, not overbearing power. Normally, tongue was and indication things were speeding up, reminding Darcy to gauge whether or not she needed to slow down. Loki made her feel like this was just the natural state of things. She was supposed to be perched on a counter, him standing between her legs, kissing the ever-loving crap out of her.

Her phone rang. The Mission: Impossible theme let her know it was Natasha.

She gasped and let her hands drop from his hair to his shoulders, resting her chin rest on her hands, desperately trying to catch her breath. She was worried momentarily that he would push away from her before she was ready, but he held her close, his hands still spread across her back as that stupid ring tone finally ended. She could feel his breathing catching to the same time as hers. Certain biological functions, that apparently transcended from Midgard to Jotunheim, brought her attention to the fact he was pressed up against her in the most intimate of ways as her skirt had ridden all the way up to her thighs. She fought the urge to push him away, straighten her clothes demurely, and pretend like she hadn't been two seconds away from letting him have his wicked way with her right their in the damn locker room. No. She couldn't move. She couldn't look him in the eye after this. They could just stay in that position so she'd never have to. It might be awkward at first. He'd have to probably get use to carrying her. around; but they were both adaptable creatures. Thor might have a hard time with it.

Thor. Thor was probably having his noble, selfless way with Jane at that moment, without all of the threads of mistrust, emotional baggage, and invisible puppeteers to hold them back from just enjoying what had blossomed between them. It was unfair. Darcy wished things had been different. That they had met before madness had almost taken Loki and depression her. Then again, they would have never have met under such circumstances. She winced in embarrassment when she realized she was shaking; but he still held her close. Her trembling intensified when she felt on of his hands slide down to rest right on her butt as he boldly grabbed, pulling her of the counter and set her on her feet. Jerk. She still did not pull away from him.

"I do not apologize," he said into her hair mattery-of-factly. "And I allow them to attempt to play me because I enjoy watching the bait they use."

"I do not exist for your amusement," she said. She meant to sound angry; but she knew sounded as wounded as she felt.

"No, my dear girl," he said, running fingers through her straighter than normal hair. "But you provide it nonetheless." He paused, planting a soft kiss to her neck, causing her to shiver again. "You should have known better to tease me about your little hero. I must admit, I feel a little silly now." Darcy smiled. Oh right. That was how all this started.

"Well, you do have an unusual way of showing antagonism," she replied. "I shudder to think what your fancy looked like."

"I'm still willing to show you."

"Are you going to laugh at me if I look at you?"

"Is that why you are clinging to me like a fungal growth?"

"Do you go around kissing fungal growths like that?"

"Not as a habit, no." Darcy slowly unclenched the muscles in her arms, allowing a decent amount of space between them as she slowly looked up to meet his eyes. His hair was slightly mussed courtesy of the Darcy Lewis Make-Out Scalp Massage. It fell around his face in all the right places, complimenting his rather smug smirk. He phone rang again.

"Dammit!" she said quickly grabbing her small evening purse that had fallen on the vanity counter.

"Hello!" she said, trying her best not to sound flustered and failing miserably. She looked up to she herself in the mirror. Thank god her lip gloss had been relatively pale in color. "Yeah, sorry, I was getting ready. I'm here." She watched him come up behind her in the mirror.

"Getting ready for what being the question," he whispered in the ear not occupied by the phone. She scrunched her eyes as the unbidden mental images came forth at his command. Damn him. Sir Broods-A-Lot was in a playful mood. Great.

"Who's picking us up?" Darcy asked incredulously. "Since when was Tony coming? Since he invited himself and offered to pick us up in a limo? That makes sense. And he's bringing Banner? He just doesn't do anything low profile, does he?" She felt herself tremble again as Loki appeared interested in studying the patterns of the lace of her dress right around her hip area with his fingertips. She furrowed her brows, swatting his hand away. "Yeah... I think he's coming with us, so we might want to avoid any cameras. Good. I'll be right out." She quickly turned around to Loki, not even taking another breath. "Listen," she said threateningly. He paused, straight-faced, seemingly very serious. "I am going to have a good time with my friends. And Tony, apparently. Can you behave for one evening?"

"You seemed to be enjoying my misbehavior well enough," he said, leaning in closely. Oh, God, she did want to kiss him again. She put a firm hand on his chest, stopping him just short of her lips.

"And I am still adjusting to that fact," she said. "Let's see if we can get through one normal evening among other people without arguing or me having a crisis of conscience for making out with a baddie, and we'll see where we are." _Dear gir_l, he thought. _So very frank._

"You will dance with the boy?" he asked, somwhat hesitantly. Darcy rolled her eyes.

"If he would like," she said, "but if it makes you more comfortable, I'll try to keep our groins at least six inches apart. I'm sure Opie will do that himself."

* * *

**AN**:

So... ? Some progress. I hope the Erik scene didn't seem too out of place. I just feel like there should be some closure there. I honestly planned on there being more, but the chapter was getting too long, and it would have been too long with no update.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN**: Siiiiiiiiigh. Worked so hard to get this out tonight. The reviews were ah-maze-ing, you guys. Ah-maze-ing. They have really helped me develop this story. Please enjoy.

* * *

All things considered, there were less pleasant ways Loki could have planned to spend his evening than in Darcy's company out (and also, almost as importantly, in the company of Darcy's dress), in spite of the presence of almost every single one of the so-called 'Avengers' inviting themselves along as well. What had started out as a night for a few colleagues had blossomed into an outing made for prime time evening news, if anyone knew better. However, the Iron Man had apparently made arrangements for them for as much discretion as his personality would allow. No one really knew Banner or the Boy other than as their famous alternate identities. His brother would not be present. Barton and Romanov kept a low enough profile to not be recognized. As for himself, evading notice had never really been trouble.

The evening started out mundanely enough. Loki chose to teleport from location to location rather than cram himself into the one vehicle in which they all rode. While the idea of close quarters with Darcy was appealing, equally close quarters with his semi-mortal enemies was not. Stark seemed quite entertained by the whole affair, insisting that he be the one to escort Darcy and Agent Romanov, each of them on either arm, into the restaurant at which he made made arrangements. There was no small amount of private eye-rolling on Loki's part, but he maintained a civil tongue. Darcy, despite a rather stressful and adventurous start to their evening, was clearly as elated as he had ever seen her hanging off of the Man of Iron's arm, sans the iron. Tony Stark, charming though he may have been, posed no threat to Loki, and couldn't quite bring himself to ruin her evening. Yet, anyway. Romanov seemed tolerant of Stark's antics, surprisingly, enjoying chatting with Darcy. The spy had shot quite an interested look in his direction upon initially seeing Darcy's new and improved attire, stating that she could have sworn it had been red. Darcy had replied with a casual "I thought so too. Maybe it was the lighting," but the subject was dropped from there.

Loki was not sure how he felt about Darcy developing a companion in the duplicitous redhead. He couldn't say he particularly liked it, as he imagined Agent Romanov was sure to have no fondness for him. He supposed enslaving her lover (deny it though she may, he was not convinced the archer was otherwise) earned him no favor. Threatening to make Barton kill her slowly and intimately also might have put a damper on the situation. While he was from an entirely different world, he imagined Midgardian women were similar to Asgardian. They talked. To each other. They _listened_ to each other. Should the unthinkable -or inevitable- occur and Darcy confide in the little spider about the evolving relationship between him and her, it would not be out of the question the Romanov try to dissuade her from involving herself with a monster such as him. Four weeks -maybe even longer- of wanting to bed the girl and he was just now getting somewhere, however slowly. Memories of her lips against his and her thighs brushing against his hips still threatened his composure, even there at the dinner table. He may have been a god, but it had been a while. If he _were_ to branch out to other human beings, as Darcy and Thor encouraged, he supposed trying to smooth that particular situation over would be appropriate. He would also have to keep in mind to be his most charming self to Jane, when the time came for him to meet _her_. Surely she also had no small amount of influence on the object of his...

Loki paused mid-thought. Affection. It was a fitting word.

Dinner found him sitting between be Darcy and an empty chair, as they were at a table meant for eight. He couldn't imagine why no one wish to sit next to him, he thought amused. For a brief and fleeting moment, he almost found himself wishing Thor had been there to occupy the void with his overbearing, hulking mass. Almost. He felt an elbow in his side. He turned to see Darcy trying to get his attention.

"I want to get the Emperor's Feast because it has a lot of different stuff, but I don't want to waste a bunch of food. Want to go halfsies? You just pick at your food anyway." He was surprised she wanted to do as something as intimate share a meal with him for all of her little friends to see, although it was nothing that they hadn't done before. She probably thought little of it. She had even made the same offer to Thor once, to which his brother had laughed in her face. As if Thor would ever _not_ finish a meal. Still, he tossed a glance at the Boy, who had made no secret of his observation of him. Loki had spent quite a while in a glass cell in the middle of a ship. He was not unaccustomed to being examined, aware when it was happening. While Rogers had even come to Loki's defense during his pseudo trial in his pathetic quest for absolute fairness, Loki found himself despising the child. While he knew Darcy's comments earlier had been to strike back at him for saying he was indifferent to her -a fair move- it brought to his attention that Darcy _had_ noticed the patriotic fool and had found him appealing enough to suggest such a thing. But, guess who was_ not _being asked to split a meal with her?

"Very well," he said with great dignity. "But I will not have you monopolizing all of the cheese."

* * *

Frigga perhaps was cheating this time.

Odin had passed his judgement. Loki would work out his own redemption in the world he had almost destroyed. It was not unreasonable. Not to mention, Thor's dedication to Loki's rehabilitation was able to put her at ease somewhat. She had been upset when Thor had been exiled, railing at her husband in spite of her ultimate acceptance, but had maintained confidence Thor would return a better man for it.

Loki, though... Her youngest was different.

She knew Odin and Loki rarely understood each other. She never doubted her husband's love for their adopted son; but it was so difficult for Odin to hold different standards for their two boys. While it was known that Thor would ultimately take the throne, the same responsibility was expected of Loki, even though the need was unlikely, a slight Frigga had wish had never been placed upon him. Loki had always preferred tricks, illusion, and cleverness to her elder son's brawn and strength. Too often she had heard Thor and Odin criticize Loki's gifts, saying it was expected of an Asgardian to be forthright with his enemies. They were wounds she now knew she had not been able to heal, no matter how hard she had tried.

And now, her little boy was banished, so close to being consumed by his own darkness, she had but the faintest whisper of hope that he could be saved. She had taken him in her arms before they left, still seeing him still as her strange, misunderstood boy, even in the face of all of the chaos he had caused. She had seen defeat in his eyes that she had never before seen. Defeat. Sadness. Loneliness. All of the things from which she had tried to protect him for so long seemed to cloak him like a death shroud that day he had been returned to Asgard.

How her heart had fluttered when Thor had told him Loki had changed his plans of overtaking Midgard to save the life of a mortal, a woman of the same race he had spent weeks tormenting. Thor had described it as a fondness. A fondness strong enough to overcome his desire for power, if only for a moment. It gave her hope that there was glimmer of her son left. It would have to be enough to start, but Frigga feared it would not be enough. Her mischievous son was so much more complicated than Thor. A pretty face, while it might have been able to stay his hand, would not be enough to save him. Loki was not Thor; and Frigga was no longer to prepared to follow the same rules.

So she found herself at the observatory, what was being rebuilt, daily to interrogate Heimdall. So many questions she would ask. What was her name? Whom did she serve? What was she like? While the guardian had little love for Loki, he would deny his queen nothing. Heimdall tried to describe the strange creature he saw flitting around the exiled prince as best he could to her. She was young, even for Midgard. She was beautiful, with long, dark brown tresses and soft features. She talked a lot. Too much, according to Heimdall. She served the human organization that fought Loki. She now helps both of her sons with living on Midgard.

It became clear to Frigga as the weeks passed that Darcy would be monumental in helping her son. She dared not assume very much about her son's feelings towards her; but from what Heimdall had seen it was clear that he was at least attracted to her and at least marginally protective of her. The queen knew her husband would classify what she had on her mind as 'meddling.' Odin would just have to forgive her for it later.

* * *

"Wielding his hammer?" Barton suggested.

"Lame," Tony said. "We can do better than that."

"I don't think this is an appropriate discussion for dinner," Steve said, eyes on his food, trying to contain his blush.

"We've gotta use 'hammer' somehow," Barton insisted.

"We've also got thunder and lightning to work with," Natasha offered.

"Back in my day, we just called it having sex," Darcy said, arms crossed over her pleasantly full stomach. She heard Loki, who had remained conspicuously silent for the current conversation, choke a little on whatever bit of food he had taken.

"Don't be a spoilsport, Lewis. We're bonding," Tony said.

"I'm sure Thor and Jane will be delighted to know it," Loki commented. "I do hope someone is taking notes to share with them later." Since Darcy had received a text from Jane declaring that she was _soooooo_ dead for keeping Thor's presence a secret, especially since Jane hadn't been able to watch the news, prompting Darcy to laugh, prompting Tony to grab her phone and read her message, prompting the game he had started where the table came up with the corniest possible name for what everyone guessed Thor and Jane had been up to for the past twenty-four hours.

"Excuse me, Rudolph, I don't believe I've heard a peep of contribution from you," Stark retorted.

"I try to keep my conversation about my brother's 'hammer' to a minimum, thank you." He gave Darcy a look until she noticed it. She leaned in closely, trying to keep her voice low.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas figure. A reference to your helmet, I'm sure."

"Insults are a lot less satisfying when you have to explain them," Tony said loudly.

"Don't worry. It wasn't that good in the first place," Darcy replied.

"Darcy: that hurts."

"Should have worn the armor," she said, leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed. "And I'm throwing out 'opening her bifrost.'"

"Hey, yo! She's in the game." Tony said. Natasha threw Darcy and amused glance. They had come up with that one several weeks prior, but it hadn't been about Thor.

"You, too, Darcy?" Loki said, a look of betrayal on his face.

"E tu, Brute?" she mocked. "I didn't talk about... Meow Meow... just Jane's... bifrost. Totally different. Didn't Thor break the bifrost with his hammer, though? That can't be a good omen."

"We're back to first base, then?" Natasha said.

"More like home plate," Banner added.

"We're talking about baseball now?" Steve asked.

"No, Steve, we are mixing metaphors. It's a bad habit," Darcy said.

"Meow Meow?" Loki asked.

"I wasn't able to pronounce... Mjol... whatever, when Thor came to earth. It just kind of stuck."

"Mjolnir," Loki corrected. "You were literally one syllable away. That is just laziness."

"You want to talk about lazy, daytime television man?"

"They are historical documentaries, thank you," Loki corrected. "You should be flattered I spend any effort at all learn about this planet of yours."

"Studying her Tesseract," Tony said. "It even has the science in there, for Jane."

"Thor doesn't study," Loki commented.

"I'd bet he'd study that," Darcy said. "Not the Tesseract. Jane's-"

"I know... what you mean," Loki almost growled.

* * *

The demi-god was surprised that her little club treated him with the amount of tolerance as they did. Aside from Darcy, Stark seemed the most at ease around him, of course little seemed to put him ill-at-ease. Of their entire party, if Loki _had_ to pick one, he had the most respect for The Iron Man. He did not get rattled very easily and seemed to know how to enjoy himself: both qualities to which Loki could relate. Banner was quiet and disheveled, still seemingly constantly on guarding himself from "hulking," as they called it. While he was far from comfortable with Loki's presence, he seemed to be having difficulties fitting in himself. It was quite clear Stark had been responsible for dragging him out of whatever science lab he had been in. Romanov and Barton seemed to quietly ignore him, except he did catch the Black Widow observing him at times. She made no attempt to hide her scrutiny, usually meeting his eyes with a sly smile. He did not understand her looks, nor did he care for it. And that of course brought him to the Boy.

The Boy was currently receiving a rather amateur set of dancing instruction from Darcy- much to Loki's chagrin- in what she had described as a 'swing' club that had been picked out by Stark as he watched from a table, by himself, one floor up from the giant dance platform. He recognized the music as what was popular from several generations ago from Midgard, but it agreed with him. He even found the dancing slightly more tolerable. He took a small amount of comfort in knowing that the captain wouldn't even know what to do with a woman like Darcy if the opportunity did present itself. One could not even mention anything untoward without him going red. He watched as the two of them laughed with each other easily as the boy tripped all over himself and Darcy. Pathetically ill-coordinated; but they still seemed to be having fun.

It bothered him. The fact that it bothered him bothered him. He had grown too dependant on the young mortal to keep him entertained and cared for. He supposed it was his fault. He was the one that wasn't trying to adjust after all. He was the one refusing to try to make nice with anyone. Honestly, at the end of every day, despite feeling as if he had accomplished little, he felt exhausted. One more day in exile seemed like one more meaningless sand of time dropping through an endless hourglass. Most of the time, he hated to admit it, he felt... alone. With his concerted progress on containing his anger and hatred, he did not even have that to keep him company any more. The only thing that filled that void, aside from his bumbling brother, was _her,_ day in and day out.

It was not her fault. She had told him to try to make friends. If he tried to pretend to be normal, it would be easier. But, if he was honest with himself, for those weeks, he had not wanted anyone else. Even with his brother there, his world had been a cocoon of the two people closest to him in universe, sadly, with their sole purpose being to help him. In spite of how pathetic he felt it was, he had revelled in the attention, especially from Darcy: that silly, troublesome girl. He had wanted to curl up inside of her, in more ways than one, and just disappear. She was warm, bright, soft, and kind as opposed to his world that was cold, dark, hard, and cruel. Sometimes, just sitting on the couch next her, watching her happily eat her favorite ice cream while resting her feet on his lap, he felt like she could just push all of the ugliness away. Seeing her having fun with all of her friends without made him feel once again as he did on Asgard. An outsider who did not belong.

"I'm surprised Capsicle's head hasn't burst into flames with you staring at them that way," he heard behind him. He did not have to turn around to recognize Stark's voice.

"It would be amusing," Loki commented, taking a drink of the scotch he had been nursing as Stark sat opposite him. "I could probably make it happen, if you would like."

"Maybe later," Stark said. "Do you lurk about at home, too, or is a strictly out of doors things?"

"I do not lurk," Loki said. "I was enjoying the solitude. _Was_ being the operative word, I suppose."

"Does the tortured loner bit go over well with her?" Loki scowled, but made no answer. "Oh, come on. You came all the way out to ignore us in our faces? I'm doing my best here."

"Why are you here?"

"Doing my civic duty, trying to rehabilitate the mass murderer and all. Darcy's probably met her quota in that for the month." Loki despised the way Stark made it seem like he was nothing more than her job. What was worse was that he was not completely incorrect. The idea that Darcy had befriended him out of necessity was discomforting. He had chosen to release her in the first place to avoid such a situation, and it wound up ultimately being his downfall, most likely. It was eased only by the fact that kissing him as she had, he was almost sure, was not specified in her job description.

"I'm sure your country appreciates your sacrifice," Loki said mockingly, returning to look at Darcy. She was dancing with the Hawk and the Spider now, carrying on with the utmost care free laughter. By the halls of Valhalla, she looked beautiful.

"I'm assuming you haven't buried your scepter in her vault yet, by the way you're looking at her," Tony said, interrupting his thought. Loki squeezed his eyes shut, trying to swallow his intense irritation down with his scotch.

"Have you been working on that one long?" Loki bit out.

"Since dinner," he replied.

"I don't see how..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, none of my business. Right. And heck, last month, I could have cared less what you did with her when she was just a pain in our computer system's ass. But I'll be straight with you..."

"What a joy."

"The fact is that she's a trusting, innocent girl that's being manipulated by people she's convinced cares about her. And before you get all villainously indignant, I am not talking about you, as that would imply that you care about her. If you are looking for a lay to keep the tension low, hell, _I'm_ all for it. I'll even be your wingman. I can fly. But Darcy deserves better than that." Loki found himself draining his scotch during Stark protective big brother speech. Did he not suffer this enough with Thor?

"I suppose you would prefer the shield-bearer to court your little protectee?" he said.

"They _did_ look adorable together, didn't they?" Tony said, exaggeratedly resting his chin in his hand in his best gossip girl empty glass crushed in Loki's hand. "Whoa there, tiger. Wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea. Think of your image." Loki glared as the pieces of glass slowly came back together, molding back into its own shape. "Neat trick."

"I would ask that you not tempt me to break my oath to not kill any of you during my exile here."

"Sorry. Not my style."

"Do you feel you have sufficiently tortured me yet?"

* * *

From what Darcy could tell, it looked like Tony and Loki were actually having a nice conversation. That was pleasing. She had to admit that she was having the time of her life. Partying with the Avengers was straight up awesome. She would be lying if she were to say she was not a teeny, tiny bit disappointed Loki showed no interest in dancing with her; but she would deal. Baby steps. He was out and about with humans. That was an improvement at least. Dinner had been pleasant and full of nice conversation, Thor's hammer or no. She couldn't have been happier that Natasha and Tony had tried to include Loki in the conversation. She understood it was awkward for everyone; but she was convinced they would come around; and she appreciated their effort. She had been headed to the ladies' rather nice private sitting room to get off the four inch spike heels she was on when Tony smoothly swooped her in for a slower dance.

"You weren't going to leave me out, now were you?" Darcy rolled her eyes as she conceded to one more dance before she got off her feet.

"How could I dream of it," she deadpanned.

"Have you thought of my offer?"

"Yes."

"And?" he asked. Darcy sighed.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry. Say that in my good ear," he replied, turning his right ear toward her.

"Yes!" she said in a loud whisper. "I just... need some time to make arrangements to leave. But... yes, I want to come work for you."

"I knew I wasn't wasting my time with you." Darcy smirked.

"When would I start?"

"ASAP. The sooner we can get you trained on what I need, the better. I can give you a few weeks to get your affairs in order before we go back to California." Darcy looked at him incredulously.

"Back to California?"

"It's where the magic happens." Darcy looked away, excitement and uncertainty filling her. "It should be like a welcome home, right? You _are_ from California. Ward of the State of California's foster system since age nine before going to UCLA, only to be sucked up into the glitzy world of alien invasions, am I right?" Darcy's breath clenched in her chest, feeling yet again like a specimen he was examining.

"Why does every man in my life feel the need to invade my privacy on _so_ many levels?"

"Well, at least I do it to your face," he replied smoothly.

"I guess," she replied, grudgingly.

"Hey, I'm prepared to trust you with some top secret stuff. I'm nothing if not thorough." Darcy's annoyance immediately melted away. In a few weeks, she could be in Tony's secret workshop. O-M-

"So when are you going to break it to them?" Darcy breathed heavily, looking up at Loki who was looking back down at her.

"Why is Loki giving us the stink eye?" she asked.

"Probably because he thinks I'm trying to talk you out of becoming any more involved with him than you already are. Of course, I don't _have_ to do that, do I, seeing as you are already very, very smart and would know how very, very stupid that would-"

"Wow, you're right," she said. "You are incredibly thorough. First my childhood and now my love life. Will you be asking for my cup size next?"

"DD, I guarantee it," he replied without skipping a beat. "Why do the words 'love life' come up in the same conversation as Loki? That scares me." Darcy sighed heavily.

"It's complicated," she said.

"Is that what you're posting to your Facebook? Too bad you won't be able to tag him."

"I hate you so much."

* * *

Darcy flopped on the rather comfy couch with Natasha, slowly taking off her shoes.

"I'm about ready to go home," she said.

"You're such an old woman," Natasha said. "It's only eleven."

"Ugh. I know," Darcy said, putting her feet on Tasha lap. The spy eyed her.

"Oh, I get it. Thor left last night. Did the mice play while the cat was away? Someone must have been up all night."

"Tasha!" Darcy hissed quietly. There were a few women milling about the restroom, not that anyone was really listening.

"Are you telling me _nothing_ has happened? I've taught you nothing." Darcy huffed as she sank further into the couch.

"I'm sorry I can't just... _do_ stuff like you can."

"I beg to differ. I think it would be quite easy. He's been staring at you all night. We have a word for that where I'm from. It's called eye-fu-"

"I don't want to _know_ what it's called," Darcy said. "Don't you _hate_ him?" Tasha shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, you don't. And if anyone had reason to hate him, it would be you."

"I came out tonight so I wouldn't have to think about this."

"And that's why you brought him with you?"

"Well, I didn't want to leave him alone so he could just be miserable all night," she said defensively. "And besides. He can be... kind of nice... and fun, sometimes."

"Loki? Nice? Fun?"

"Yeah. Most of the time, recently. We played chess last night."

"Chess?"

"Well. He played. I just kind moved the pieces around. I beat him at Yahtzee, though."

"If you aren't careful, you are going to starting... caring him about him or something." Darcy was suspiciously silent. "Darcy, I'm going to pretend like you are gushing denial instead of saying absolutely nothing in response."

"Were you guys staging an intervention or something? Should I expect Barton to threaten to shove an arrow up his-"

"Darcy, perhaps I should have explained earlier. You _play_ with bad boys. You do _not_ fall in love-"

"I am _not_ in love with him," she defended. It was enough to convince Natasha, although the spy still eyed her suspiciously. "I just... I don't know. I feel like deep down, he can still be a good person. And I _happen_ to find him... a little of the delicious side. It's a delicate balance." She never like it when Natasha arched an eyebrow at her.

"Whatever you say," she replied. "I'm headed back out."

"I need a few more minutes. These stupid shoes are killing me."

"Well, when you find yourself being attacked with no weapon and you can use your heel as a dagger, you'll thank me." Darcy smiled as she watched her friend leave, resting her head on the back of her couch and closing her eyes. She was thankful most of the other women had left, most of the noise had gone with them. She just wanted to go to sleep and to not think of Loki's hands on her back anywhere else for that matter. Seemed unlikely.

"It's always exciting isn't it?" she heard. Her eyes snapped open and head popped up to find the voice. There was still one woman fixing her hair in the mirror across the room. "The danger of the unknown." Darcy laughed as she heard the woman walk towards the door.

"You have no idea," Darcy said as the woman approached. She looked to be in her forties or fifties, but Darcy was still taken aback by how beautiful and elegant she was. She had honey golden hair in a very attractive updo. She wore a black cocktail dress better than most twenty years olds.

"It always pleases me to hear about it," she said. "So many young people are so afraid to take chances any more. It makes me feel as if there is no magic left in this world." Darcy nodded her head in an agreeable manner.

"Oh, it's here," she said. "It's just scary as hell." She blushed a moment, self conscious in front of an older stranger. "Heck, I mean." The woman smiled.

"Tell me about the 'bad boy' your friend speaks of," the woman said, sitting down. "Would you mind humoring a hopeless romantic?" Darcy shrugged, smiling nervously. Strangers, she found, were weird. But the woman was so... inviting.

"I'd be the last person to be able to you anything," she said "It's like I know everything and nothing about him."

"What do you know about him?" Darcy thought a moment, caught up in her own thoughts to think about who she was talking to.

"I don't know, he's... sad," she said. "And... lonely. I guess it comes with the whole 'loner' persona he's got going on. But he's also funny. And smart. and charming, when he wants to be." She suddenly remembered she was talking to a stranger. The woman really did... strike her as strange. "But my friend is totally right about the bad boy thing, unfortunately. Exciting but... not always the best situations."

"And you feel like you can make him less alone?" she asked. Boy, that woman was nosey; but it made Darcy think all the same.

"I want to," Darcy suddenly realized. 'But... he's got to want that, too. I'm not sure that he does." The woman smiled.

"Well," she said, standing, a sweet smile on her face, picking up her small purse. "You sound like a very wise young woman. I'm sure you will use sound judgement as you travel through this exciting time in your life. My best wishes to both of you."

"Thanks?" Darcy said, still a little confused.

"Thank you," the woman said, "for humoring an old woman." Darcy made a raspberry sound.

"I hope I look that good when I'm 'old,'" she said. The woman laughed pleasantly as she left the room. Darcy didn't realize until a few minutes after she left that she had never got her name.

* * *

Darcy knew she might be taking just a little bit of advantage of Loki. But he was, like, super strong and her feet _really_ hurt.

"I could kill you for this," he said as he carried her up the step to their home.

"We've already established that I'm too pretty to kill," she said sleepily into his neck. He sighed.

"Agreed," he said. "But you are not above threatening."

"I can handle the threatening," she said.

"Oh, how lowly I have sunk," he said, using his mind to open up their door. Darcy mumbled something incoherently. Loki froze. something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Darcy said sleepily, raising her head up.

Within moments he heard Darcy scream, and felt a wire wrapping around his neck. The sound of Darcy's scream being cut short let him know the same was happening to her. The two seconds it took to get a handle on the situation felt like two seconds too long as he projected a double of himself behind his attacker, and then throwing his body into it. The wire that had been wrapped around his neck suddenly held nothing as his attacker stumbled only long enough to have his neck snapped by by the enraged demi-god. In the darkness, he could make out Darcy being strangled by another unknown perpetrator, her only defense being to hit him in the face with the shoe that had been in her hand as she struggled to free herself. He had little time to think as he threw several shards of magic into the man's body. As he fell limpr, blood from his wounds to the head spilling onto the floor. The sound of Darcy coughing in a desperate attempt to breath was music to his ears as he ran to her side, knowing she was still alive. In the darkness he could see the tears in her eyes as she tried to cough, sob and breath at the same time.

"It's okay," he tried to soothe. "Just breathe," he said. She was inconsolable at the moment, and he was worried she would lose consciousness. He had never felt more helpless as he touched his hand around her neck, using what little healing magic he had to soothe the trauma. He could feel blood where the wire had cut into her neck. A white hot rage started in his stomach and felt like it was seeping into his intestines. The only balm to calm it was his need to stop her crying. He scooped her up easily as he had mere minutes before and teleported her away from their home that was no longer safe.


	16. Chapter 16

**Important A/N: **As you may or may not have noticed, the rating has gone up to M. I know most of you will be _brokenhearted_ about this... but I wanted to give proper warning. Definitely still nothing too explicit, but probably more suggestive than a T rating would allow. Better safe and all that. I've actually never written a romantic scene before, so if it seems awkward... that's why. Be gentle... its my first time. I might edit it down if it is truly terrible when I read it again in the future, who knows.

Also a heads up that the next update might take a while (A week or two... but hey, two chapters!) I need to go back and clean up previous chapters, as it sounds like I _still_ keep missing some mistypes. I really would like to do that before I move forward. We are clearly getting more into the heavy plot, so it is going to take some planning and I would like to make sure everything will be consistent, also. If you guys notice anything that doesn't seem to match up, now would be an awesome time to mention it :)

Thank you so much for your support and reviews, both here and on the Tumblrs, which I joined, FYI. Drop a line anytime. This was honestly supposed to be a few vignettes, and here I am 50k+ words in.

**CHAPTER 16**

It was with a mixture of great apprehension and contentment that Loki lay in the dark of their room, quietly listening to Darcy breathe in and out in slumber as a storm raged inside of him. Darcy had finally calmed down after he had teleported them to the distant but not too far away city of Boston and checked them into a hotel for the evening. It had taken a while, but she had finally managed to fall asleep at two in the morning from pure exhaustion from both adrenaline and the following emotional toll. He had no idea if she knew who the men were; but he had an idea it had something to do with what he had seen on her computer the night before. The attack was surely meant for her. Few people knew about his or Thor's identity, to his knowledge, unless Fury had gone to the Council against his word. Not to mention, if someone were trying to kill him, they would hopefully have known to send 'bigger guns,' so to speak, than that.

He looked down at the sleeping girl curled into his side, the angry red line around her pale throat sending a wave of nausea to his stomach. He had been trying to heal it slowly, and it was indeed fading. Alas, in spite of the knowledge he had gained from the Tesseract, he was no seasoned healer. A few more seconds, and Darcy Lewis would have ceased to exist. Had he not been there. Had she chosen to not live with them. So many small details could have just as easily been changed, and she would be dead. Dead. It was such a strange word to him. So seldom did anything really die in Asgard that did not deserve it. His father would fall into the Odinsleep, restore his body, and would return. In spite of trying to do him harm several times, Loki seemed to know Thor would somehow survive, in the back of his mind.

The death of a mortal had never seemed more significant than the death of an insect; and he had killed humans with has much thoughtlessness. But now things had changed. He _knew_ Darcy. She had...value.

He felt suddenly felt as if she were a breath away from death simply by existing. If he hadn't chosen to take her with him when he came to Earth, she could have died right there at the SHIELD facility. If not worse, he could have killed her if she had gotten in his way with never having known her. If she hadn't been at that facility, she could have been killed at home or on that ship in the midst of the destruction he had caused, as so many others had. How many other Darcy Lewis' had he killed? Was this what his father wanted him to learn? Was every insignificant human dear to someone? That these helpless, finite creature all had value?

His chest tightened, his thoughts threatening to overwhelm him. Is this what had turned his brother into a lovestruck buffoon? He had mocked Thor for his protective attitude toward the mortals. Now he was beginning to understand, much to his own distaste. Not with all of them, of course. He was not _that_ pathetic. They were still self-destructive and petty creatures. The girl in his arms though, he would admit, was different. True, she was reckless, impulsive, naive, indecisive, she talked way too much, and was, more often than not, getting herself into trouble: all qualities he had despised in both humans and his brother. She was also loyal to her friends, not that he could quite count himself among that number. He was sure he had done nothing to deserve it until tonight, maybe. She was forgiving. She was intelligent, clever, and witty. In spite of all he had done to her she still did not want him to suffer. She even had toyed with the notion of being attracted to him, as terrified of it as he knew she was. All qualities that had begun chipping away at the ice that had his encased his insides for so long. He had not even noticed her at work until it was too late.

He probably would have been better off just having his mouth sewn shut again. Maybe prison.

"Are you awake?" he heard her ask softly. He had been so consumed in his own thoughts, he hadn't even noticed her waking up. Her voice was noticeably hoarse.

"Yes," he said as quietly. "You should try to rest."

"Fat chance of that happening," she replied quietly, allowing several moments of silence again. "Loki?"

"Yes?"

"I think I've done something very bad."

"Yes," he said softly. "I know." He felt her attempt to burrow herself into his side even more, tucking her head under his chin. He looked down at her hand resting on his stomach. Tentatively, ever so carefully, he placed his hand over hers. The warmth of it seemed so foreign and strange.

"I didn't think it would be like this," she said. "I thought at worst Director Fury would chew me out. He's done that before. I just tried to read emails. Nothing even super secret. I'm not even that good."

"Coming from centuries of experience of getting myself both into and out of trouble, worry not. We will find out those responsible and deal with them accordingly." There was a long moment of silence again.

"You will help me?"

"Good little minions are hard to come by. I shall not leave you behind." He felt her small form tremble as she stretched her arms out to fully embrace him, squeezing more tightly than before.

"I'm really scared," she said.

"You have six, make that seven, very powerful individuals that will soon know an attempt was made on your life by, what is most likely, the organization they serve. You are rather like their stray kitten which they seem to protect. We need only steer clear until your little club of heroes gets through with them." If Loki didn't get to them first, he clarified in his mind.

"I am sorry you killed those men on account of me," she said. He stiffened, uncertain of her meaning or intention.

"You are upset that I killed them?" he questioned. Darcy could feel the anger just beneath his control, humming in the body she was holding.

"No, they tried to kill us," she said thoughtfully. "But, I'm sorry I put you in that situation." A humorless laugh escaped him as he lifted a lock of her hair, playing with it between his fingers.

"The life of two more hardly matters anymore does it?" He felt her still, whatever was weighing on her mind keeping her surprising quiet.

"Doesn't it matter to you?" she asked.

"What is it Darcy? Do you wish I had spared their lives?" Loki could feel his voice sharpening, as much as he wished to keep it dull.

"It's not like that," she said, surprisingly calm, not rising to his challenge. "You are trying to end your exile, aren't you? I don't really know what you are supposed to do; but I wouldn't want to be a reason for it to be longer." He frowned confusedly down at the top of her head, suddenly realizing it was some kind of strange concern for him that she asked. He wasn't quite sure what to do with that.

"If my actions were just in protecting your life, then why would they extend my exile?" he questioned, continuing to run his fingers through the rest of her hair absently.

"It's the difference between giving someone a drink and giving an alcoholic a drink. The drink itself isn't bad... it's where it leads." Loki thought over her words a moment.

"You are concerned that since I killed those two men, I will fall back on old habits?" He felt her shoulders shrug simply.

"You were just... doing well."

"I have never needed assistance in orchestrating my own failure," he said, attempting to be flippant. Something about the way she said it struck an ache in her chest. "If my banishment continues, I assure you, it will not be on account of you."

"You didn't fail," she said seriously. "You were just meant to succeed at something else."

"Yes," he said. "I've learned to operate TiVo with native ease. I'm sure that will make Odin very proud." She hated self-denigrating Loki. It was worse than crazy, megalomaniacal Loki. Well, they were equal.

"_I'm_ proud of you," she dared to almost whisper. All was still, she was fairly sure he had stopped breathing, and she worried she had made a terrible, terrible mistake. "Not that... it means anything," she tried to smooth over. Oh awkward silence, how she hated thee. "I mean, It took me a month to work that thing and I've had T.V. all my life."

"If I were to succeed at anything, I would prefer it to be at getting you out of that dress," he finally replied. It was the final match struck within the fumes of almost two months of unbearable sexual tension. A positively wicked smile spread across Darcy's lips, all apprehension about the man beside her vanishing. Nothing like a yet another near-death experience to cause her to do something very, very stupid, was there? She could have died that night, with him being the only one to stop it. If she was honest with herself, and she always was, she would have to admit she did not want to go one more night without picking up what the God of Mischief had been throwing down for a long while. What was it that one woman had said tonight? Something about taking chances or something (anything)? She was older than her and surely had life experience on her. Seemed legit.

Loki would have to compliment Darcy on her element of surprise at a later date, as his half-hearted attempt at flirting with her to distract himself from the ridiculously warm feeling she caused with her little declaration had resulted in her mouth suddenly being on his as she straddled his lap. There were few individuals who had ever managed to make his eyes the size of saucers, but he would now have to had it to add it to the list of talents of Darcy Lewis. He had scarcely been able to wrap his arms around her before she felt him unbuttoning his shirt. Oh yes. This was happening. A warm feeling of an entirely different kind began to take over when her fingers snaked into his hair. She seemed to like doing that, he thought with a smile against her lips.

He fought the urge to rip those tiny straps from her shoulders only because she had no other clothes with her, instead going for the zipper, lips never leaving hers. He slowed down slightly when he heard her sharp intake of breath, but continued when she showed no signs of stopping him. Darcy hated herself just a little when her dress came down to reveal her extremely unsexy strapless bra. Honestly, they just didn't make sexy, supportive garments in her size. She wondered what Asgardian women wore under what she imagined was an endless array of flowy, white, princess dresses. Then came the inevitable wave of incredible insecurity. Oh God. What if foreplay was different for demi-gods? What if she tried to like, nibble on his ear or something and that was some kind of freakish insult? Loki didn't seem to notice her distraction at first when flipped her over on her back and moved his mouth down to her neck, mindful of the painful line he had been slowly trying to heal. When her fingers slipped out if his hair and rested at her side, her sudden lack of participation did not escape his attention.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, trying to keep from breathing too heavily. While his characteristic stone cold composure was waning, she could tell he was genuinely concerned. It was yet another emotion to deal with in the maelstrom within her.

"I... I'm worried I'll do something stupid," she asked.

"If you don't feel that way now, I doubt you ever will," he said, offering a playful smile, trying his best to remain patient and calm. Other parts of him told a different story to Darcy, particularly against her leg.

"What if I try to do something like... sexy... and it's like... weird in Asgard?" His grin widened.

"Darcy, I sincerely doubt your mind could concoct something that would unnerve _me_ in this particular setting... but I do encourage you to try."

"You don't think I'm..." she didn't finish, but her eyes yet again did not meet his.

"What?" he questioned, semi-desperately.

"Well I'm not... you always said mortals were..." A pregnant pause filled the room.

Loki could have killed himself right then and there. Correction to his earlier thoughts: he _definitely_ would have been better off with his mouth sewn shut. Of all the times she chose to be self-conscious of his constant insults towards her race, she chose now. He made no reply, merely rested his head against the chest he desperately wanted uncovered at that moment. He recalled Volstagg asking if his silver tongue had turned to lead, and he couldn't help thinking that it had at that moment. He had absolutely nothing to say for himself. He instead just scooted lower, gently planting kisses until he reached her stomach, hoping to ease her self consciousness, looking back up at her, seeing her eyes on him intently.

He looked back at the flat expanse of skin that held no evidence of his trespass against it. The last time he had laid eyes on this part of her, there had been gaping wound there made from his own hand. The light in her eyes had been about to go out. He looked up quickly at the memory of it. She was watching him most intently, the light in her eyes very much alive.

"Am I not the God of Mischief and Lies?" he said, a sickeningly smug smirk on his face as he pressed the side of his face against her healed abdomen for a brief moment before resuming the slowly trail but up to her neck...with his mouth. "You should know better than to believe anything I say." A wave of relief washed over him when she smiled.

"So, by that logic, you could be lying now to get what you want, and therefore you could have been telling the truth when you said-"

"Darcy, I could think of one hundred other things, quite literally, you could do with that mouth, O Goddess of Talking Too Much." Her grin grew wider as he came up and over her chest with his his trail of kisses in between his words.

"I would prefer Goddess of Tasers, thank you," she replied distractedly. "That sounds much more bad-" Her last word was cut off again with his mouth again.

* * *

"Can you see him, Heimdall?" Frigga asked, a worry creasing her brow. She paced the floor of the observatory, nerves on end. Had she known what would have happened so soon after her return Asgard, she would have stayed to warn her son. If only she had known.

"The prince must be distracted. He forgets to hide himself more often."

"Where are they, then?" she questioned impatiently.

"Loki has taken her away from danger to a nearby city where it is unlikely they will be found."

"Is the girl hurt?"

"She yet lives."

"And my son," she said sadly. "He has killed again."

"In what seemed to be an attempt to save the girl, yes, two humans were slain." Heimdall, as always, betrayed no emotion. The fact, however that he said anything that remotely in defense of Loki spoke volumes to Frigga.

"You have seen who they are?" she said.

"There is a power at work that has been able to cover its actions, much like his highness, from my sight," Heimdall said. "But there are traitors in the group known as SHIELD. They reveal themselves in desperation to hide. They have allied themselves with enemies in a search for power." Frigga sighed heavily.

"I must go to him," she said."I must warn him."

"My queen," Heimdall said. "The king would never approve of such-"

"Leave the king to me," Frigga said. "My husband, like my sons, rarely know what is good for him until it is too late. He'll come 'round, as always. Odin knows when he must plant his foot, as do I."

"Of course, your majesty," Heimdall replied.

"What are they going to do now? Can you see them?" Heimdall was silent for several moments.

"In the interest of decorum, I do not think it wise to cast my gaze on the two of them just now," the gatekeeper said. The queen gaped a moment as she stared at the abyss of a sky, understanding his full meaning. She could not stop the small, disbelieving smile slowly creeping its way to her mouth. "I believe I must congratulate you on a task complete, your majesty." The queen cast a sardonic look to the stoic gatekeeper.

"A little encouragement in these matters never hurt anyone," she stated confidently.

"You place so much hope in such a young mortal?" Heimdall asked. "It is a terrible burden for such small shoulders."

"No, Heimdall," she said gravely. "I know that she alone cannot save him. Only Loki can do that, in the end." She looked back the empty sky, remembering the story of her son falling into its depths, her heart clenching at the memory of it.

* * *

In movies, when two people had some kind of torrid affair, the camera always faded to black to until the next morning after several hours of sleep, when the parties could awkwardly ignore their bad decision with a fresh start.

After the first time, the sun had just come up and they were both wide awake. Darcy, rather than peacefully falling back to sleep after what she would later have to tell the Natasha was the legendary and sought after _best she's ever had_, spent a good ten minutes giggling to herself at random intervals with an amused Loki looking on. It would take only one stray, smug look from her scrutinizing companion to get her laughing again. It was quite a new reaction, he had to admit, but he was quite sure the correct response was to be pleased. She certainly seemed so. It had started again when she took a shower. The man could probably just magic himself clean, but Darcy was far from complaining about his intrusion. Their third and final time had been on into the late morning on the suite couch with the television on in the background. The both were observers by nature, both high interesting in exploring every aspect of their brand new situation. It was only then that they finally fell into a dreamless sleep for several hours.

* * *

"I must admit, Miss Lewis, with as much as you talk, I took you for a... what is the Midgardian phrase... a screamer?" Darcy flushed as she bit into a croissant as she lounged lazily on the couch. Now he was just seeing what he could get away with.

"Sorry to disappoint," she said, mouth partially full as she pulled a sheet up around her to keep at least a little warm. "I wasn't about to try dirty talk when it sounds like I have a frog in my throat." Loki's amusement faded slightly as he hooked her hair back with a finger, inspecting her neck.

"It has healed a great deal." She nodded, worrying her lower lip as she always did when she was avoiding something. "Please do not wound that mouth with your nerves, dear girl. I have plans for it later." She rolled her eyes, eyeballing their tray of lunch for her next conquest.

"And what makes you think I'll allow it?" she said arrogantly, grabbing a handful of fruit. "I don't think I like this assuming tone you have."

"I assume nothing," he said, "but work off of facts. One of those facts being the rather impressive relief of your teeth I have in my shoulder."

"Whatever," she said. Despite the intense distraction of the wee hours of the morning, the late afternoon found her far too preoccupied with the rather specific attempt on her life the evening before than she would have preferred. "I have to get back to the house."

"Out of the question," he said, grabbing the daily paper that had accompanied their food, sitting on the couch. He hated reading the paper or watching the news. (It only angered him to know that the world had chosen its own chaos over him, she had found.) That meant he was trying to ignore the coming conversation.

"If they tried to kill me over whatever small thing I hit, then it is something worth knowing, isn't it?"

"Darcy, do you not think they have already purged our home of all of your electronics?" Darcy sighed heavily.

"I wish I would have thought to grab it last night," she said dejectedly, wrapping the bathrobe around her more tightly, suddenly feeling cold.

"I will return to the house to get some of your things and will see if there is anything left. We will need to relocate; and then we will be able to deal with the situation properly when you are safe." She was surprised at how cool and collected he was at the whole thing. Not that he wasn't usually so; but they _had _tried to kill him, too. It was not as if they had stood a chance, but, that kind of thing tended to piss a person off. Particularly someone who spent so much time hating humans. He acted like the whole situation just... wasn't really a thing. Darcy also hated that she was being such a _girl _in the middle of such dire circumstances, but it was kind of nice the way he said 'we,' as if it was a given that he would be with her. He wanted to keep her safe, and it made her feel so. She supposed her inner feminist should balk at the sentiment that she needed a man to protect her; but, let's face it, she wasn't doing a great job of it herself. And he was a demi-god, after all. Having the big, bad God of Mischief watching her back (and front, for that matter) was kind of, what some would call, awesome. It then occurred to her that there was still something she hadn't told him.

"Tony offered me a job at Stark Industries," she said, waiting for a response. As he had been pretending to read the paper, he quietly folded it in his lap, laying his folded hands on top of it before looking up at her.

"When was this?" he asked.

"A couple of weeks ago," she said. "I accepted last night. I will be moving to California soon."

"Ah," he said. "Well, at least he was trying to do that rather than warn you away from me, I suppose."

"No, he did that, too," she added matter-of-factly. A humorless smirk crossed his features that she was finding more irresistible by the minute.

"Well, I suppose that does put us in an awkward situation," he said. "My terms were met with SHIELD, which is now accountable for this attack on the both of us. You are now leaving SHIELD."

"Your terms were met with the Avengers," she said. "No matter what they think, SHIELD doesn't control them. Most of SHIELD doesn't even know about you, because of the possibility of this happening, which it did. If they did, I doubt they would have sent only two men."

"Do you think Fury knew anything about this?" Darcy paled at the implication.

"No," she said. "I can't believe that."

"Sentiment alone will not remove all possibility, my pet."

"Nick knows you and Thor were living with me. He might not even know Thor was gone. It would make no sense for him to send two moderately armed spooks to take me out. It would only put us on alert if he was trying to do something."

"That's better reasoning."

"Whatever."

"And now the Man of Iron seeks to take you under his wing? Why should that be?"

"Because I'm incredibly awesome," she said sardonically. Loki arched an eyebrow, met with a very smug look from Darcy as she grabbed a muffin from the tray. "He said that he since I was able to hack into JARVIS while I was all... you know what, skipping over that... that he thinks I'd be valuable to his company. He said he can train me ten times higher than SHIELD is willing to."

"And I'm sure the fact that getting you away from SHIELD, an entity he seems to mistrust in general, rightfully so, apparently, while you have some kind of perceived influence over my brother and I has nothing to do with it?" Darcy frowned, picking at her muffin.

"Why do you make it sound like everyone always has to have an ulterior motive?"

"Because everyone always does, Darcy," picking his paper back up. He was getting uncomfortable. "The sooner you learn that, the better off you will be."

"Why? So I can be as happy as you?" she snipped. He threw her an annoyed glance. She studied him for a bit. "People can care about other people, Loki, even if they start out with other intentions." He still made no reply, just sitting there in his own superiority; and it was beginning to piss her off. She hopped off the couch, grabbing her dress, and put it back on, wishing she had something more concealing. She knew he had looked at her in her momentary state of undress, but kept his eyes on the paper when she turned to face him. _Men._

"Fine!" she huffed, hands on her hips, talking with her hand picking up. "You know what? I'm throwing it out there. Just because Odin saved you with diplomacy in mind, doesn't mean he never loved you as a son." As if he wasn't already pale enough, Loki loss even more color in his face. "You think I forgot that day with the Cube when I saw you? Well I didn't."

"Darcy," he said dangerously, "don't." As always, though, once she was on a path, she was going walk it until it got her into trouble.

"That's right. I said it. And you aren't the first person to be royally screwed up by a well-meaning dad. Hell, I would have _loved_ to have had a well-meaning dad to screw me up. I am not saying everything doesn't suck for you, because it has, but the only people you are hurting right now is yourself and the others trying to make it right. You may be be chessmaster when it comes to how to play people; but you really, really suck at feelings." He stood, slowly, and menacingly.

"You seemed to have little complaint of me last night," he said. Quick as lightning, he had her arms pinned behind her back, pinning her flush against him. "Perhaps I have indulged you for too long and let you become too familiar with me. You still need to learn I am not a toy for you to fix." Her eyes sharpened into little daggers and felt like they were piercing into his own.

"Maybe you're right," she said, "and since I was nothing but a pawn for you in the first place it must still be the same; and it was stupid of me to think that would ever change. In that case, that would make this officially the biggest mistake I ever made." She was being flippant and sarcastic and it was making him angrier. "Just because you want to go through _your_ life miserable and distrustful of other people doesn't mean I have to be down there with you. I'm not saying Tony didn't have a lot of reasons for asking me to work with him; but he makes it clear that he is concerned for me."

"And I have not?" he demanded.

"You've gone from sleeping with me to threatening within three hours."

"I-" he froze, slowly releasing her from his hold, backing away. He felt strange. "I was not threatening you," he said, much more quietly than he had been speaking.

"Thor might be willing to put up with however many personalities you are willing to go through on any given day, but I am not that committed. If you want to go from scary evil man to playgirl bunny in ten seconds, than you need to either room with one of the guys, or have fun in Jotunheim." She flounced away with a resounding slam to the bedroom door, leaving him standing there, dumbfounded.

What in the world was a playgirl bunny?


	17. Chapter 17

Darcy hated life. She really didn't feel like looking at Loki just then, she was in the middle of Boston in which she had absolutely no contacts, and she wasn't about to ask him to teleport her to New York. Not to mention, he crying she was inevitably going to be doing was probably going to give her a headache. She locked the door, not that he couldn't just teleport in anyway. Respecting personal space and boundaries had never been of Loki's talents, but she had to try. The phrase 'Loki's talents' brought up all kinds of unbidden memories from the previous eight hours. Memories of lips and stomach muscles and long fingers -god, the fingers. She knew he'd probably had a millennia worth of experience at the oldest dance in the book, but good _lord_. And here she was crying to herself in the bed that had just shared not hours before.

Why couldn't he just be easier to talk to? She felt like she had to fight him at every turn. Every serious conversation was a battle. He was either completely closed off or completely unrestrained. There was no middle ground. Last night had been so... painfully, sweetly, magnificently perfect. He had been playful and gentle and considerate and all of the qualities she felt were just buried under layers of the world's worst Daddy Issues. Captial D. Capital I. She now worried it had been too soon. There was so much she hadn't dealt with, Coulson's death being chiefly among them. But in that one beautiful moment of her passion and his vulnerability, she hadn't been able to deny him or even think about anything else. She refused to regret it. He had been denied and shut out and looked over his entire life. She couldn't do that now.

_I've come too far for anything else._

She was beginning to understand him, which scared the hell out of her. Well, at least kind of understand why he did some of the things he did. Sometimes, you were just on a path and it was too scary to stop or you were too stubborn to leave; as if you would have nothing else if you did. Maybe _she_ was the crazy one now. She had wanted to keep him away, until he dealt with all his stuff and had at least felt _sorry_ for what he'd done. But it was too late. She had made her bed... and diddled the God of Mischief in it. Despite talking a big game to his face about not being committed, she couldn't escape him now, even if she wanted to. Not when there was still hope for him. He had saved her life. There was something at work in his soul, and she wouldn't abandon him. She breathed heavily.

But that _so _didn't mean she was taking his bullshit.

* * *

Loki sat there listening to the girl's quiet sobs through the bedroom door until could stand it no longer. He did not have to be able to read her mind reader to know he was not quite welcome at the moment. How could he have turned a night as spectacularly successful as the night before into her crying on the very bed he had just spent hours... studying her Tesseract. It was unfair. He should have been spending this brief interlude with her before he committed to destroying whatever fools had attacked them, not stewing in his own self-loathing as he listened to her cry.

He tried to recount where it had gone wrong. The girl had tried to talk about _Odin_ of all things. His relationship with his father was the absolute last place she belonged. In typical Darcy fashion, she had ripped open a wound with no thought to the consequence. She always sought to get the infection out, but never seemed to know how to stop the bleeding. If he let her into that part of his life, he would gush until there was nothing left. That was not her place. She was to help him adjust to his exile in Midgard. Asgard was another matter.

To be fair, he supposed giving herself to him as she had was also not in her original plan, either. It had happened all the same. The memory of her hair and skin and legs wrapped around his own threatened to consume every thought he had. Asgardian women, in spite of the tenacious nature of their male warriors, were graceful, but reserved creatures. Darcy had been all uncontrolled desire and unashamed need, not a reservation in her, aside from her initial self-consciousness. She had looked at him with all the desire and adoration he had so craved from her since he had first had her under his spell. But it had been real. It had been genuine. No mind gems or duties had interfered, if only for a moment.

It was unfair.

He decided to make the most use of his time and teleported back to their home, sending several doubles to make sure all was clear. He left a doppelganger in the room to keep a part of his mind's eye available should she need him. He was correct that her computer had completely been removed. Their house appeared ransacked, but nothing besides her computer and other electronics was gone. He looked over at her dresser. Someone had clearly rifled through it. The thought of someone in her room made him uncomfortable. The two bodies were completely gone. Someone had done a thorough cleanup. He took time to grab a travel bag and pack as many of her clothes as he could fit into it. He grabbed as many of his books as he could, including his chess game. He had spent time investing in his small library, after all.

Needless to say, he was beyond shocked to see his mother in the living room of his home when he walked back into it, about to leave. Everything in his hands dropped to the floor as he gaped. She smiled at him, the warmth she had always radiated seeping into his very bones like a comforting embrace. He knelt to one knee, bowing his head respectfully.

"What is this?" she asked. "The mighty Loki kneeling before me?" He could feel the tears pricking at his eyes as she approached him, remembering his own rage in Germany as he had shouted at the humans to kneel.

"He is feeling less mighty by the day," he replied, daring to look up at her as she approached him. She blended into her environment well, although he would recognize her anywhere. Her hair was arranged very modernly, her black dress similar to an elegant lunch attire for a woman. She looked strangely out of place, and yet never more at home.

"My son," she said as he finally rose. "I am afraid it is not with glad tidings that I come. You are in more danger than you know. Heimdall as seen it."

"What?" he said, confused at how his mother knew.

"There is a traitor within the group known as the Shadow Council of the human group, SHIELD. He sought the Tesseract for himself. He was willing to destroy part of his own world to get it." Loki rolled his eyes, an unusually irreverent act in front of his mother.

"Humans destroying humans," he said, "how very unsurprising."

"He sought to eliminate the girl as a threat," she continued, "despite the fact that she never had a chance to even discover this with her prying. But now he knows he has a much more powerful threat still here in Midgard." He stared at her intent as her hand came to gently rest on his cheek. "You have made many enemies, my son. They will come after you...and the ones you hold dear." Loki blanched, taking in the full meaning of her words.

"Who are they, mother?" he asked.

"I do not know his name," she said, dropping her hand. "He has received power beyond Midgard. From Jotunheim." Loki's heart sank into the pit of his stomach as he listened to his mother, realizing that he would soon pay for every sin of his in blood. "The Frost Giants have revealed themselves as allies to the traitor, secretly. You were the price of their help to regain the power they both seek from Asgard. The traitor will try to deliver you." Down, down, down went his heart, as he dejectedly collapsed on the couch, unsure of how to process every word he had just heard. His elbows came to rest on his knees as he stared at the places where the carpet had been removed.

"Are you not breaking the rules, mother?" he asked softly. "Thor received no aid from you."

"Thor has never needed me as you have," she said, approaching him, emotion welling in her voice. "I only wish I had broken the rules earlier." Loki fought the tears from surfacing in the corners of his eyes.

"You mustn't blame yourself for the mess I am in now," he said. "It is one of my own making." Her elegant face reflected the sadness she fought to keep at bay, coming to kneel in front of him, taking her hands in his.

"You musn't turn away from those who love you now, Loki," she said. "You are not an island made to suffer alone. We are your family still."

"I do not know what is required of me," he said sincerely.

"Nor do I," she said. "I know Odin does not always do everything perfectly; but there is a purpose to everything your father does. And he loves you as I do." A bitter laugh escaped him.

"I do not think anyone could do that," he said, taking his hands from hers and raking his hands through his hair. Frigga stood easily, a sad smile on her face.

"This...Darcy...seems to be making a fine effort in the endeavor." Loki's head snapped up, completely unsure of what to say about _Darcy _ to his mother. He scoffed, dismally.

"Darcy feels many things; but love for me is not one of them."

"And you?" she questioned, with the unabashed lack of embarrassment that only a mother could muster. "Is this a pleasant distraction for you, or do you love her?" Loki would have degraded or belittled anyone else who asked him such a thing. Not his mother, though. She was the one and only person who would always be able to wrench the truth from him with enough prodding. He did not have the heart to lie to her now, when he so desperately just needed someone to tell him how to make everything better.

"I am not sure if I am capable of loving her," he said. "Not the same way she does. Not the same way... she deserves." He paused, looking up at Frigga, who watched him intently. "She is so unlike any person I've ever met. She is everything I hated about mortals. But, none of it seems to matter...not anymore; because no matter how many faults I find in her, she accepts as many as she finds in me." He stopped himself, suddenly self-conscious about describing Darcy to his mother. He was uncomfortable with the smile on her face.

"Mortality is both a blessing and a curse," she replied softly. "They have so little time. It is easier for the wiser ones to love much more fearlessly then us." The thought of the little time Darcy had on earth reminded him of the sheer waste for which he was responsible. He should be making love to her again and again, not making her cry alone in a bed in a hotel room.

"She is in danger with me," Loki stated, standing from the couch.

"She is in danger, regardless," Frigga corrected. "I must go now. You will need to remain hidden until your enemies reveal themselves. Rest assured, they will." She approached him slowly, her two soft hands coming to rest at his temples as she kissed his forehead. A lone tear ran down his cheek as she curiously examined the ends of his shorter hair with her fingers.

"Much better," she said with a weakly approving smile. "Her idea?" He smiled faintly, nodding. "I like her already. Stay with her, whether as a lover or as a friend. I yet believe she will help find your way back home." He stood watching as she slowly walked out of the door of their house. She paused at the door, slightly turning back. "And Loki, if I were you, I would familiarize myself with the art of apologizing. It is a necessary skill in the bonds of both love and friendship, whether in Midgard or Asgard." With that, she walked outside, disappearing outside.

He had been able to see Darcy while he was at their home. He had remained there for a few hours, thinking on his mother's words, before teleporting back, their belongings in hand. She had finally come out of the room in his absence, being startled to see his less responsive doppelganger standing at the window. Realizing what it was, she had returned to sleep, door open. When he teleported back, taking the space of his double, he had immediately dropped their things and walked to the room. She lay there curled into one of the large hotel pillows, shallow breaths indicative of an uneasy sleep. He slowly walked in, stretching himself beside her on the bed, daring to take her in his arms while she slept. She immediately turned over, embracing him in slumber.

Love Darcy? He wasn't sure. He cared about her. He would concede to that. He certainly would protect her with the full extent of his power. With his own life? The potential answer to that was uncomfortable, and he decided to take a chapter from Darcy's playbook and ignore it for the moment. Perhaps it was because she was both similar to and so different from him at the same time. She seemed to cause chaos wherever she went, although with less intent then he usually held. She could generally see things for what they were, especially the actions of others, even if she chose to ignore it. She seemed most at home in playful conversation, especially with him. It had been those qualities that had still shown through and so drawn him to her, even under his thrall. She had adapted so easily to being in his service, as it had been necessary for her survival, letting her clever banter and easy laughter warm him even then in the throes of his madness.

And then there was the ways she was different. She loved so very easily. She forgave easily. She dealt with what she could handle as opposed to being painfully overwhelmed as he so often was. She understood why people did things and tried her best not to hold it against them, whether it be Tony Stark or the All-father himself. It was a concept foreign to him. To Asgard. There was always a price to be paid, in his experience. She demanded no retribution from him, only that he try to change the path that he had been on. Perhaps he had been waiting for her to name the price she expected for helping him. It had yet to come. She expected everything and nothing. She accepted that he was not a hero; but expected him not to be villain, either. It was a strange sort of acceptance, one of which he had never dreamt.

He felt her shift suddenly, knowing she had woken. She did not pull away from him to his great relief.

"I...am sorry," he said quietly, remembering his mother's words. "I will try to do better." He could feel her small arms squeezing around him.

"I'm sorry, too," she said. "I'll try not to pry, until you are ready for it." He smiled, recognizing the out she had already given herself in her 'not prying' oath. "I don't want to argue with you anymore. It makes me sad."

"I shall endeavor to become less contentious. I know that I am used to having my way." She seemed satisfied with his answer. "Does this conclude our first lover's spat?"

"Yep," she said, head still laying on his chest as she toyed with the fabric of his shirt. "Only took a few hours to have one, didn't it? Although, here in Midgard, we usually follow it up with what we like to call 'make-up sex.' That's the official end."

"I _do_ believe this realm is beginning to grow on me."


	18. Chapter 18

**AN:**

Okay. Revisions are mostly complete. You should be able to enjoy the story without having to go back. Just note the following changes:

-Darcy and Fury's relationship has altered. They are not exceptionally close and have a very formal acquaintance. As the story became a story... it just stopped making sense.

-about two months passed between Ch. 12-13. I felt that two weeks was not long enough for them to become as familiar as I have written them I will be editing that soon.

I have developed Chapters 1 and 2 quite a lot and changed the dialogue for Ch. 3-5 quite a bit. It's not critical that you go back and read, but I think it adds to the story for me. More minion!Darcy.

Sorry if it has been a little slow and cerebral and dialogue heavy. Lots of new things to deal with and I didn't want to not do them justice by glossing over it. However. Plot is getting nailed down and, as some say, stuff is about to get real.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

* * *

**CHAPTER 18**

_ You have six unheard messages._

_ First unheard message received at 6:02 AM:_

_Gooooooooooood Morning Cupcake This would be your new superior calling you. You may know me as Tony Stark, but from now on now refer to me as Big Daddy Boss Man. Working on the title. I am calling to let you know that the lovely, beautiful, amazing, Ms. Potts -are you hearing this,Pepper?- is back in New York and will be here to go over the paperwork necessary for you to come work in Tony's, I mean, Big Daddy Boss Man's little workshop. Please give us a ring back to set up a time. Also, I don't like missed phone calls._

_ Next unheard message received at 8:32AM:_

_I believe I already told you my policy of missed phones, but I will go over it again. I don't like 'em. I'll forgive it this one more time though. You're new. Call me back so we can meet today. Also, Pepper says 'Hi."_

_ Next unheard message received at 9:51AM:_

_ Okay, okay, twinkle toes. We can drop 'Big Daddy Boss Man' if you are going be all pissy about out. Take a Midol and get your mini-skirt wearing ass over here._

_ Next unheard message received at 10:42AM:_

_ Darcy? This is Pepper. Tony said to give you a call. He sounded a little worried. Is everything okay? Please call me back when you get this. _

_Next unheard message received at 3:05PM_

_Darcy. It's Jane. Where are you? I got a call at seven o'clock from Erik New Mexico time this morning asking if we had heard from you. Is everything okay? Please call. Thor's losing it over here. Are you with Loki?_

_Next unheard message received at 4:02PM:_

_ Okay, kid, so, I'm here in your living room. Neither of you are here, and your house is trashed. I'm calling on the off chance you are not in mortal danger. If you aren't dead or bleeding profusely when I find you, I'm going to kill you. I already have shrapnel in my chest. The last thing I need is a heart attack._

"Geez," Darcy said, finishing the last of her messages, quickly dialing Tony. Forget to charge your phone one night and everyone freaks the hell out. Although, since Tony did in fact see the state of her house, and considered someone _did_ try to kill her, it wasn't totally inappropriate. She watched as Loki stood, dressed in his usual Asgardian attire, which she found strange, as he stared stoically out of the window, briefly wondering what he was looking at when the line picked up. "He... Well it's nice hear the the sound of your voice too... No, we're fine we just... I know it looked awful. We were... Yes. No, I don't know who. Two guys. We didn't think to introduce... Yeah they're kind of on the no longer living side of things now. We're somewhere safe... I don't want to talk about this on the phone. I'll... I don't know. Look, give me some time. I was almost strangled last. If Loki hadn't been there, I would have been. Just let me pull it together and I'll see you tonight, okay? Stark Tower." Darcy groaned as she hung up the phone, turning her eyes to Loki, who still seem fixed on something outside. "Whatcha looking at?" she asked.

"The coming storm," he said absently. Darcy's brows furrowed slightly, as the news channel quietly playing in the background next to him was reporting a clear sunshine-y day. She walked over to the window, standing quietly at his side, crossing her arms over her chest. The sky was as almost as black as pitch with the thunderclouds. She jumped a little at the rather loud thunder clap while Loki remained perfectly still.

"Big bro?" she asked. Loki smiled, looking down at her, taking in her much more natural attire of simple shorts and t-shirt that she wore. A drastic change from the night before, but she seemed more at ease with herself.

"Yes," he said, smiling slightly. "He must be looking for us. I am not hiding from him. It won't be long now."

"Sheesh. He's gone one day and look at what happens."

"Yes. I get everything that I want when he is not around, as usual." Darcy quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I was referring to us getting attacked; but really? Everything you want? I'm flattered." More sarcastic than flattered was her tone.

"I was talking about control of the television. I haven't had to listen to a sports channel in forty-eight hours."

"You're such an ass," she said, rolling eyes, going to pack up all of her things. Her barb was met with a wide smile. Two long arms came to wrap around her middle as she continued busying herself.

"We couldn't have too many changes to our relationship all at once, could we?" he said.

"Right. If you said anything remotely nice with our clothes _on_, I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

"Well it is a good thing that_ I_ would." Darcy huffed quietly, accepting the fact she could do little with his arms securely around her.

"You mean, in all this time, you have not managed to forgive your brother even a little bit?" she asked.

"Darcy," he said. even with his gently warning tone, his voice made her name sound delicious. They had agreed to give themselves -well, her- a break physically after the _official_ end to their argument. If they were going to make it, he was going to have to not say her name. There were a lot of things he should not say. He, really, should probably just not talk. "I believe we agreed that you would not pry."

"I said I wouldn't pry about _Odin_," she said, turning around in his arms and resting her hands on his forearms."This is _Thor_. Totally different." He gave her an incredibly long suffering look. "I'm just asking as a friend, Loki. You can say 'no,' and I will respect it, I _guess_. But it can't feel good to be pissed off all of the time, can it? And Thor has bent over backwards to try to get you to forgive him."

"Now if only you would follow his example," he said, looking off into the room thoughtfully. Darcy sighed, holding back the comment 'I've created a monster,' for his benefit.

"Is _everything_ going to be an innuendo now? It might not bode well for you. We're talking about your brother. You wouldn't want to go mixing images in my head, would you?" He looked at her soberly.

"Touche."

"Well?"

"Darcy, I know you do not like it when you can't put everything right immediately; but my relationship with Thor will not be completely restored overnight." Darcy looked down, resolving to not answer back. "But," he continued, "I am not completely blind to my brother's efforts. I am beginning to think that he truly has changed. I-" He paused, silent a long while as the storm raged outside. Neither was blind to the humor of the situation. Darcy didn't breathe a word. "I remember a time when I loved Thor more than dearly than anyone else could ever know. He was always reckless and impulsive, and I thought him an unfit king, but I loved him." Darcy looked up to meet his eyes, let him speak as long as he was willing. She was honestly surprised he had gotten this far. "I've spent centuries not living up to someone to someone I thought was flawed. Only to find I was considered inferior because I was..."

Darcy inhaled deeply, knowing they were going into hostile waters. He closed his eyes with a sharp breath, his jaw setting sharply, trying desperately to not let the rage he felt at the thought consume him. She looked down at her hand on his arm, giving him a gentle squeeze. She wanted so badly to tell him otherwise. That he wasn't inferior. That he was fascinating and mesmerizing. She couldn't understand how this was an issue. But she also didn't know what it was like to live on Asgard. She just remained silent, preferring to say nothing over the wrong thing. She found herself fiddling with different parts of his outfit. She hadn't been this close to him in his Asgardian attire since when she was under his control and she hadn't been nearly as comfortable. The small metal rivets on his sleeves. The metal circlet on his chest. Everything about him was just fascinating and exciting to her. It was a strange sensation to feel so safe in the presence of someone so dangerous.

"I am starting to see that Thor has truly changed. For the better," Loki continued. "While I, for worse. It has been a difficult pill to swallow, as it is said."

"Stop comparing yourself to him!" Darcy suddenly said, a frustrated head shake taking place of her resolve to be quiet five seconds ago. He seemed taken aback by her sharp tone. Still, he did not break his hold around her. She scoffed, brows furrowed. "Just, stop it. There's no point in comparing two different things. If I had to judge Natasha based on how well she could build and arc reactor in a cave, she'd be borderline useless. If I had to judge Tony based on him being able to make me cry using only words, he wouldn't amount to much either."

"The Black Widow made you cry?" he asked, genuinely curious, but her meaning not lost on him. He just chose not to address it.

"Yeah," she said, eyes wide. "The whole process of them trying to make sure I was not controlled by you was _so_ not cool. The things in that woman's head..." Darcy shivered, breaking their embrace and returning to organize her things. Always trying to distract herself.

"You speak more easily of that particular time," he said carefully. Darcy shrugged.

"We had some good times," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "You even got me ice cream. No point in trying to ignore it forever. Especially now. If we're," she paused, "going to continue this. You apologized. I forgave you. It's done."

"So easily?"

"Why not? Life's too short to go around being pissed all the time." Darcy could see the creases on his forehead, signalling he was working that brain of his. "Well, I guess not for you. You have enough time to sulk for centuries." Loki was beginning to prefer a conversation topic other than her mortality.

"And... what of the other things I have done?" he said. Darcy stiffened, knowing the conversation that was coming. She turned away from her packing, crossing her arms tentatively over her chest.

"You killed Coulson," she said. "You killed a lot of people."

"Yes," he said, giving her several long moments of quiet time to think. "Can you forgive that so quickly as well?" It was an uncomfortable silence.

"Are you even sorry at all for it?" He had to smile, a little sadly.

"You are such a child sometimes," he said, although not cruelly. "You think a simple 'I'm sorry' can wipe away all wrongs. It is not so easy as that. Not everyone forgives as freely."

"It's a start," she said, uncrossing her arms and letting her thumbs hang from the belt loops of her shorts.. "Thor forgave you. Odin, _not_ that I'm bringing him up, is giving you a chance to get it together. And if it is so easy, then why haven't you said it yet?" While Darcy hated playing chess, she enjoyed watching Loki play. Even against a vastly inferior opponent such as herself, his eyes would go back and forth, contemplating the intention behind all of her poorly planned maneuvers. He had a similar look in her eyes just then. She always felt so small when he look at her like that: as if she could never hope to understand the depth of knowledge and intelligence behind those green pools. It made her feel silly even trying to talk to him about anything. What could she possibly have to say he hadn't thought of himself? The silence drug on for so long she had actually forgotten she had asked him anything as she immersed herself in her own contemplation.

"Would it make you feel better?" he said, his voice carrying a harsh undertone that she did not like. He seemed to have grown upset in their silence. "If the monster you invited to your bed at least said he was sorry? Is that what you want to hear? Could you live with yourself more easily?"

"I live with myself just fine," she said firmly, refusing to get upset. "I don't regret anything with you, today, last night, or otherwise. But when we leave today, I have to face a lot of the people you've hurt. It would be easier knowing you actually wanted to do better. I think you do, but you've never told me; and the last thing anyone should ever do is assume anything about what you want._ I_ don't want this to stop here. I like you. But you're right: I don't think even I could ignore it if you're a completely unrepentant murderer." The words stung, more than she probably meant them too. "But, no matter what it is you feel, I would like you to be honest, if you can manage it."

Honesty with Darcy was risky. He had tried it once before, and it had not been pleasant. Loki had learned much about himself since then, however. Honesty did not mean he had to reveal every single thing he was thinking (such as the fact that he was bored in the same breath as saying he wanted to bed her. He wanted to shake his head at his own past idiocy). Perhaps he had been a deceitful creature for so long, he knew not how to be honest with any level of tact.

For her, though, he would try, sickened though he was by his own sentiment. He would hold _that _feeling in. There. He was growing.

"I find myself regretting many of my actions," he finally said. When Darcy was brought back to the present conversation from her own mind and realized what he had said her eyes went wide. "While I certainly had no love for your Agent Coulson, or any of those who died at my hands, I barely knew them, I do wish I had not gone so far as to end their lives. Coulson was dear to you. The others... were dear to someone. While I cannot yet say I regret my attempt to rule you all, I still think you would have been better off, I do wish I would have gone for a more diplomatic approach. I do believe it is more my style." He paused. "And I do not wish to end this, either."

"Oh," she said. "Well, okay then. And... good. About... everything else. It's...something."

"Eloquent, as always, my pet." She scowled, but did not answer back.

"Would you feel more comfortable if we didn't tell anyone?" she asked. He tilted his head to the side, amused.

"Would you?" he asked. "It is not every day the little lamb invites the big bad wolf into her bed. I'm not sure your little group would approve." Darcy refrained from rolling her eyes out of fear they would pop out of her head if it became a habit, which it had. What had she just said about him saying things like that? Mentally, anyway?

"Makes no difference to me. I'm pretty sure everyone already thinks we're doing it," she said casually. "And Natasha has been outright encouraging it."

"_What_?"

"Oh yeah," Darcy said, a smirk crossing her features, crossing her arms over her chest cockily. "She's been trying me to get me to jump you for weeks. I'm surprised she didn't spike our drinks and throw lock us in a closet last night." Darcy had never seen the prince genuinely surprised. This was one of those times.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but why in the _world_ would she do that?" Darcy tilted her head to the side in a non-committal sign that she didn't know.

"She probably thought we could both stand to get laid. Who knows. Honestly though, she probably just wants to see what will happen. I'm kind of curious myself."

"Dare I ask what _else_ you have discussed?" Darcy smiled impishly.

"Nothing as interesting as the conversations we're _going_ to have, I'm su-"

It wasn't a thunderclap this time that cut Darcy off, but a rather loud banging at the door to their room. Darcy gasped in alarmed at first, but Loki seemed unconcerned.

"Loki! Open this door!" she heard Thor booming from the other side. Darcy's face immediately broke into a grin, darting to the door as Loki trailed boredly behind, slowly. He heard the door open well before he got there.

"Darcy!" he heard Thor shout in greeting.

"Jane!" he heard Darcy say, delighted.

"Darcy!" an unfamiliar feminine voice said.

"Thor!" Darcy greeted as Loki rounded corner to the entrance, casually leaning against the wall. He watched from a distance as Darcy hugged the woman logic would dictate was Jane Foster as his brother lifted them both up together with his own massive embrace. When they broke apart, Jane face immediately went to that of concern.

"Oh my- your neck!" she said, her thin fingers immediately going to examine what was left of the line across Darcy's neck.

"It's okay," Darcy said. "It's a lot better than it was." Darcy said shyly. "Come on in." Thor and Jane's faces immediately both fell to Loki as they came into the living area of the room. Thor, upon seeing that Darcy was well and nothing unseemly had happened -that he knew of- was calmed from the rather irate tone he had but a moment ago.

"Brother," he said in greeting, offering his arm. Loki, a moment of hesitation later, clasped his brother's arm at the elbow in genuine greeting.

"Welcome back," Loki said. "Try to stay away longer next time, hm?" Thor smiled in return, for the first time feeling genuine warmth in his brother's voice toward him in his tease. It was then that Loki focused his attention on the elusive Miss Foster. He had seen her before once, in passing, when he visited his brother on Midgard during his exile. He had not looked very closely, he had to admit, as he had not looked at Darcy. She was most certainly an attractive mort...woman, he corrected. She was dressed similarly to Darcy with a careless and comfortable style. Her long, highlighted hair framed a well defined face. Warm, inquisitive brown eyes met his own. He could practically see the wheels turning as she sized him up. The Woman of Science. He inclined his head politely, offering hand to her.

"Miss Foster, I believe," he said, the most charming possible tone he possessed practically dripping from his lips. Jane hesitantly place her hand in his, watching him carefully. He politely brought her knuckles to his lips in the most gentlemanly of ways. Darcy and Thor exchanged looks, both holding their breath.

Of course, Loki was feeling exceptionally naughty, only_ just_ refraining from letting Jane see what the hand that currently held hers had been up to for the past day. He had promised to be nice his brother's lover, as she would not doubt a heavy influence on Darcy from there on.

"It's nice to meet you," Jane said hesitantly, eyes darting to all of the occupants of the room. "Thor's told me... so much about you." Loki smiled as he released her hand.

"Of that, I have no doubt," he replied.

"Well, yay, it's exciting, everyone's here," Darcy said, breaking the tension as she usually did. "Is there some reason you stormclouded in here? I thought you were supposed to be off getting... reacquainted." The eyebrow Loki was beginning to grow quite fond of arched suggestively. Jane blushed prettily.

"The Man of Iron called us quite alarmed," Thor said. "While he did say he spoke to you and confirmed you were alive, he said you sounded distressed and that you were attacked last night. We came immediately to find you." Darcy sighed.

"Well," Darcy said. "We better get to Stark Tower."

"We aren't going to SHIELD HQ?" Jane asked. Darcy breathed heavily.

"Jane, I'm not even sure if it wasn't someone in SHIELD who did this."


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 18**

Darcy hadn't realized how much she had missed Jane. True, she had grown closer to Natasha in the past few months and the redhead was a totally awesome to be around. She had even promised to teach Darcy how to take a grown man down using her legs, if she worked hard enough. But Jane was just _Jane_. She was so grounded and reality and reasonable when Darcy _so_ wasn't.

If Jane had been there this entire time, Darcy would have put up a barrier the size of the Wall of China between herself and Loki because Jane always said to do what made sense. Loki was dangerous, Loki was unstable, stay away from Loki. She could practically hear the astrophysicist saying it. While it appeared Thor had managed to convince Jane to not be openly hostile toward his brother, an impressive feat, she was clearly far from trusting. The way Jane's eyes kept darting between her and Loki made Darcy feel uncomfortable. Darcy hadn't gotten an answer from Loki as to whether or not he wanted to keep the alteration in their relationship a secret, so she was planning on keeping it on the D-L for the moment; but Jane would figure it out. Jane _always _ figured it out. They could have probably kept it from Thor for a while. No longer.

The transportation arrangement had been _so_ awkward. When you had two demi-gods with two completely different methods of super awesome travel, there was a certain line in the sand that had to be drawn. Jane was clearly going to go rocketing around with Thor through the stratus back to New York. Darcy was disappointed, because she had just seen Jane for the first time in months. It felt strange to leave her so soon. Loki, of course, teleported to wherever the hell he wanted to go, and had looked at Darcy quite expectantly to join him at his side for the rather brief journey. Did she go with Loki and make that obvious 'I'm with him, you're with that guy' distinction, possibly? Would it look weird to Jane? It shouldn't. Friends could...teleport with friends. It was no big deal. It wouldn't make sense to fly around with the two of them. Who knows what she could get between. Shudder.

Confident in her own decision, she had taken a spot next to Loki, resting her hand in a painfully platonic manner on his forearm. It did not escape Loki's notice, of course. It also did not Thor's notice when Loki instead wrapped a rather sure arm around Darcy's shoulders, tossing a smug look back at his brother just before they disappeared. Thor tossed a regrettable smirk toward the heavens before taking off with both he and Jane. Something told him Loki, and probably Darcy, had been up to no good in his absence.

Stark Tower loomed like a gloomy, dark shadow of bad things to come to Darcy. Tony still had yet to fix the sign and only the 'A' glowed at the top. He said he thought about keeping it that way. She punched in the security code which was still active, thankfully, and made her way to the top floor.

"I don't see why you do not wish for me to take you up there _my_ way," Loki grumbled.

"It's impolite," Darcy said. "You can't just go popping in on people."

There was a distinct shift in Loki that had taken place and she wasn't sure exactly when. Gone was the playful, bantering person with whom she had been that day. He seemed, instead, every bit the brooding demi-god she knew before. She suddenly recognized it was his game face. He was expecting trouble; and he looked every bit the menacing sorcerer she knew him to be, in spite of the fact that his magic as of late seemed to be teleporting them, healing her wounds, and changing the color of her clothes. She had to remind herself of the terrible power he had not used in a while. So dangerous. So beautiful. She shivered involuntarily.

Tony and Pepper were waiting at the elevator when they arrived. They could hear Thor crashing at the bottom floor as soon as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Darcy!" Pepper said, eyes going to her neck. "My god!"

"It's not so bad," Darcy tried to say, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

'What exactly happened?" Tony said, not wasting anytime with small talk. At that point, Darcy looked around Tony's shoulder to see Dr. Banner and Steve approaching. It would make sense that they would be there. They were still staying at Stark Tower, after all. However, she did not expect to see Natasha, Barton, and Fury there also. IT made sense, though. Everyone needed to know what was going on. It was quite clear by an assortment of strained expressions that they had been arguing before she and Loki had arrived. Darcy stilled, so angry at the sight of Fury (she would have laughed at that, in other circumstances) she could barely see straight.

"Two assailants attacked us in our home last night," Loki offered, voice devoid of any emotion. "They were dealt with quickly. Their bodies were gone when I returned the next day to retrieve some of our things. I assume whoever sent them took care of covering their tracks."

"Do you have any idea who that might be?" Banner asked as he approached. Loki turned his face slightly to Darcy, eyebrow slightly raise, signalling it was time for her to start talking. The elevator dinged as Thor and Jane appeared. The two said nothing, realizing that the conversation had started. It was strange to suddenly have all of them in the same room at once. Darcy took a deep breath.

"I kind of, maybe, in a roundabout sorta way, tried to spy on some of the Council's files the other night." Tony drained the last of the drink of his hand with a roll of his eyes. "And... I'm getting the feeling they didn't like it." There were varying reactions from the group. Natasha and Barton were unreadable, as always. Tony seemed like he would laugh at her if he wasn't so pissed -whom he was pissed _at_ was the real question mark. Banner and Rogers both looked at each other, concern clearly on their features. Jane and Pepper looked horrified. Thor looked like he wanted to tear someone apart limb from limb. He probably could do it. "On a related note," Darcy continued, "I think I'm going to give you my two weeks notice." It was at that point that Fury stepped up.

"Lewis, you have no idea what you might have done," he said in a dangerously calm tone. "This is not something you can just walk away-"

"Oh, yes I can," she corrected in the harshest tone anyone had ever heard her use. "Because I just did. You are right. I don't know what I might have done. It was really stupid. And that is on a long list of doing really stupid things I've done; but if you had bothered to do _your_ job-"

"I don't think I need a post-adolescent telling me what what my job is. I was doing this when you were still in diapers." Voices were raising. Steve tossed a cautious look towards Banner.

"I think we should all just-" Steve attempted to say.

"_That's_ funny," Darcy interrupted. "You found me old enough to use me to keep tabs on a top security threat, second apparently, only to the people we answer to. Even he," she said throwing a thumb on Loki's direction, "didn't try to_ nuke_ us. I think I'll take my chances with someone I can actually trust to have at my back, thank you." Only a select few knew what that truly meant. If the argument wasn't getting so serious, Tony could have seen himself smiling smugly at Fury.

"I've dealt with traitors in this organization before," Fury said sternly, "all you have done is managed to alert them that I was looking for them."

"You could have just _told_ me that to begin with!"

"You could have just done your job and kept quiet like you were supposed to for once!" Fury said, quite loudly.

"I would be careful of your tone, Nicholas," Loki said, his voice deceptively calm. Fury looked over at the Asgardian, his anger deflating slightly. He stood in a manner very similar to when he was trapped in the cell aboard the helicarrier: hands folded behind his back, like a snake ready to strike. This time, he was no longer caged, and his brother stood at his side, looking no less menacing with his jaw clench and hammer ready. It did give Fury pause, a sudden realization that the situation was officially leaving his control. He hadn't meant to shout at Darcy, but the girl just didn't think before she acted. Now she apparently had the loyalty of two extremely powerful beings. It was not the situation he had intended.

Loki, in his own mind, would make no excuses for Darcy. She had acted impulsively and was suffering the consequences. She was simply fortunate to have enough allies who would rise up to defend her. However, the last person he would allow to scold her, especially in such a manner, would be Nick Fury.

"I think everyone should calm down," Banner said quietly. Too quietly. Darcy, along with everyone else, froze, suddenly very aware of the precarious situation they were in. She had made the mistake of forgetting about the mild doctor. She would have to also add that the list of stupid things she had done. He stood with his eyes squeezed shut and head bowed, his knuckles white from clenching his fists. The silence smothered all sound in the room for several tense moments as all eyes were on Banner, hoping to whatever gods they held in esteem that he didn't hulk.

Banner slowly raised his head, the signal that he was calm. Everyone was able to breathe a sigh of relief, but most were still too afraid to speak.

"If you attempt to leave now, Lewis," Fury began slowly, "you will be in even greater danger. SHIELD is not something you just walk away from. Not only that, but we won't be able to protect you. "

"That's hardly been your priority," she said lowly.

"And your responsibility?" Fury said, looking toward Loki and Thor.

"I can still handle," she said. "But not with SHIELD."

"You can't do that," Fury said, still keeping his voice low. "The truce was made with SHIELD. We are-"

"The truce was made with the Avengers," Steve Rogers said, stepping up. Nick looked at him incredulously. "SHIELD doesn't even know about Thor and Loki, because you didn't think it was safe. You were right. They tried killing one of their own. I don't understand exactly what she did; but that's not something you do, where I come from, no matter what. Darcy has every right not to trust you. I don't think I do either."

"We can't fall apart now," Nick insisted.

"I don't see us falling apart," Banner said. "I'm with Rogers."

"As am I," Thor said.

"I'm with the Cap," Tony said. Natasha and Barton were silent, as was Loki. It was understood that the first two would remain with SHIELD, and whatever Loki would do was anyone's guess. Darcy caught eyes with Natasha. The Widow was impassive, as always. Darcy didn't like the feeling it caused, but remained quiet. Fury exhaled heavily through his nose, not liking where the conversation was going.

"We've only just defeated a threat together," Fury said diplomatically. "I don't know what's coming our way, but we can't afford to be enemies now."

"No one said anything about enemies," Rogers said. "It has been two months, and no one has been held accountable for what happened. When you are ready to do that, I'll be there." Fury straightened up stiffly. The moment was bittersweet for him, full of both pride and disappointment. He said nothing more though, merely motion with for Romanov and Barton to lead the way out. He followed them to the elevator, stopping just in front of Darcy. She looked up at him over her glasses, uncertain what he was doing.

"Good work, Lewis," he said simply, just before he left. The words landed like a punch to the gut.

* * *

It was one of those times Darcy wanted to just crawl into a hole and die. She settled for crawling into the bed she had slept in at Stark Tower. After Fury, Romanov, and Barton had left, she had made a quick exit to the stairs, not wanting to look at anyone. Ever again. Cowardly, perhaps, but she had never claimed to be brave. They were pretty much the only seven people she had in the whole world, sad as that was, and she had let every one of them down. She had divided the team. Whoever was causing trouble in SHIELD would now be much more desperate because of her meddling. It was that tragic kind of self-pity that seemed like a pit she just couldn't quite imagine she would ever crawl out of. She heard the door open. There was only one person with steps that heavy. She didn't turn around. She just stayed curled up, trying to bury herself further into the bed.

"You will not be able to hide forever," Thor said. His accented voice was as gentle as she had ever heard it.

"Watch me," she said. He walked closer, coming to kneel in front of her, resting his crossed arms on one knee,

"Sit up and look at me," he said firmly. He had never spoken to her that way. His tone was still gentle, but she knew better than to not listen. She sat up, tried to avoid sniffling, placing her feet on the floor as she sat up straight, forcing herself to meet his eyes. "Do you know what you've done?" he asked. She nodded. "You disobeyed a direct order from your superior. What element of surprise he had is now gone. You acted without thinking, and you cost him a great advantage." Darcy's face tightened in a futile attempt to hold back tears. "You have many friends that support you and will stand by you, myself included. As a result, we have temporarily severed our ties to SHIELD, a great potential ally in this situation, even with the enemies within. This isn't a harmless court intrigue, or whatever you would call it in this realm. You are dealing with forces that have a great stake in the fate of the Nine Realms, Darcy. You are apart of that now. You cannot act for only yourself any longer." Darcy's lip started to quiver, slowly shaking her head.

"I'm not cut out for this," she said. "I didn't...ask for this. I never do the right thing."

"It matters not what for what we ask," he said. "There is no escaping now. Your fate was sealed on top of this very tower months ago."

"I don't know what you mean. I'm just a twenty-three year old-"

"You are now the lover of the God of Mischief and a Prince of Asgard." Darcy froze, eyes wide looking at absolutely anything but Thor. Well. He just...said it. "He is one of the more powerful beings in the universe, and even more cunning. You have no small amount of influence over him. I have seen it with my own eyes. I will repeat. You are dealing with forces with a lot of power, Darcy. You did not chose some harmless suitor with which to attach yourself. Your actions could very sway him to do good or ill now." Darcy shook her head, looking back at him.

"You know there is no controlling Loki," she said. "And if it is so dangerous, then why didn't you try to stop it?" Thor, for once, was having his own trouble meeting Darcy's eyes.

"My interference would have only meant resentment from both of you," he said. "You are both adults who made your decisions. I will not deny my own selfish reasons. Loki has," he paused, emotion clearly full in his voice, "come far since we came to live here. That is thanks, in no small part, to you. Your kindness, your acceptance, your occasional patience with him," he smiled a bit at the last one, "I know, has meant more to him than perhaps even he knows. You are more capable than you know, Darcy. But you _must_ learn control, and to trust the wisdom of others. You have many people who care about you. You could have brought your concerns to any of us. Even Banner or Rogers, whom I know you don't know very well, would have helped you." Darcy nodded, eyes closed in contrition.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She felt his hand lift up her chin, making her look at him again.

"There now," he said. "It's all over now, and we will deal with together, hm?" She nodded, throwing her arms around his shoulders in a painful hug. Who knew the meatball was so good at this kind of thing? He stood, easily bringing her up with him, patting her back comfortingly. "Come. Dry your eyes. I was lucky to get him to stay behind for this long to allow me to come talk to you." Darcy let go, a pained smile on her face as she wiped her eyes.

"I'm surprised he did not take the chance to rub in my face how stupid I have been while he had it."

"I think you are past the point for Loki to be unbiased where you are concerned. My brother is a master schemer, but behaving with objectivity with those he cares about has never been a quality of his."

"And it is one of yours?" she questioned skeptically. Thor breathed a tired sigh.

"It has to be."

Darcy drifted off to sleep after Thor left, as it was ten o'clock after the day was done. In the night, she felt warm body slide under the covers next to her, his arms wrapping themselves around her middle, his face burying into her hair. She could feel his bare chest through the thin material of her shirt, and fought the urge to turn around and truly take her mind off of the evening. A stuffy nose and sore muscles in indiscriminate places kept her from it. She sighed, relieved to have him there with her after feeling so alone just then. She said nothing, but entwined her fingers with his own as she drifted back to sleep.

_My brother is a master schemer, but behaving with objectivity with those he cares about has never been a quality of his._ Darcy let herself smile.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:**

It was brought to my attention that I should note this:

Much of my characterization of Loki comes from deleted scenes (since they cut away so much of his character!) I would try to find them on the internet. They are awesome. If you haven't seen them, Loki might seem a little more out of character, as close as I try to keep him in. Also, much of my basis of his relationship with Frigga comes from deleted scenes.

* * *

**CHAPTER 20**

It was with a purposeful stride that Odin All-Father walked with his usual graceful dignity into the sitting room which he knew his wife would be occupying. He had managed to learn a thing or two about his queen in the few millennia, one of those things being that Frigga only ever focused on stitching when she was up to no good.

Just as sure as the dawn, he found her on her chaise as she sat with a cloth in hand, making a quite effortless attempt at paying little attention when he entered the room. In the presence of others, she would rise and bow as was custom. In private, however, she adopted a far more casual policy. She did smile sweetly as he entered, but returned to her task at hand. If Odin ever wondered where Loki received his slyness in his childhood, he needed look no further than than the beautiful, blonde creature sitting there before him.

"How do you fare, my king?" she asked. Odin, hands folded behind his back, steadily approached his wife, watching her carefully.

"Quite well," he said amiably. "I've been at the new observatory this morning. I was told it is fully restored."

"How wonderful," Frigga said pleasantly. "It will be good for at least some things to return to normal." Odin continued observing her, the quietest hint of amusement in his eyes. It was to be like this, then, he thought to himself.

"Indeed," his said stoically. "Heimdall has told me it has already been traveled and proved to be in perfect design. I was concerned, of course, who traveled. He, however, assured me only the most trustworthy of persons was allowed passage at this time." Frigga smiled.

"Good Heimdall. As faithful and watchful as ever," she said. "He would be an excellent judge of that."

"Frigga," he said plainly.

"Yes, my king?" she asked, still sitting with her stitching.

"Heimdall also tells me you have been cheating, as much as he did not wish to."

"I do not see how I could be cheating. I was not aware we were playing a game," she replied quite seriously.

"If our son is ever to stand on his own two feet, he must not receive help in his task."

"Do not tell me how to handle our son," she said, quite sternly, standing to her feet, laying down her distraction. "I left the judgement up to you for far too long. You have never understood Loki. You cannot beat him over the head with lessons as you did Thor. He will only resent it as he did his whole life." Odin gave pause, thinking over his wife's words carefully.

"You have always accused me of favoring one over the other. Are you not doing the same?"

"Loki was never meant to be King of Asgard," Frigga said. "And yet he was constantly held to the same responsibilities for a role which he would never assume. I understood the need for Thor to stand alone, something he had never had to do before, as he will become king one day. But he was never so lost as Loki was. I will not risk losing my son again."

"And this... mortal you have involved in this?" he asked. Frigga straightened.

"What about her?"

"What have you risked with her? She is scarcely older than a child, and yet you've encouraged her to throw away the caution she held wisely with both hands. She has done so quite thoroughly, I'm told, mere hours after your interference."

"She did nothing she did not already wish," Frigga defended. "I simply went to see what sort of person she was for myself."

"And what was your opinion of her?" he asked. She was silent a moment.

"She cares for our son a great deal," she said. "And he for her, even if he knows it not."

"Most young mortal women _would_ be infatuated with our sons in Midgard," Odin said, "as we can plainly see. They were both among humans scarcely a day before they came across these girls."

"She...understands him. In spite of her youth and mortality, I think she truly understands him, more so than many here." She didn't name names. She didn't have to.

"What of _her_? You have put much faith on one so young. What has she to recommend her to such the task of teaching an man of Asgard right from wrong?"

"Does she need to prove her worth as Loki always has?" she questioned harshly. Odin was surprisingly silent, staring at his wife with his one, discerning eye. "Loki cares about her, is that not enough? I saw him. I _talked_ to him: I do not deny it. He protected her. A _mortal_. If she, with Thor, could teach him to do that, in spite of his wrongs against her, has she not shown tremendous courage and strength,_ especially_ for one so young?"

"It will take more than the regard of one mortal to redeem Loki," Odin said. "It is easy enough to care for a pretty girl completely dedicated to your needs. Loki has always needed to be admired." Frigga took a deep breath, staying her irritation. "But, I will concede...that you may be right. Affairs of the heart have never been my strength, as they have yours. And here is my predicament: Thor wishes to marry the mortal Jane Foster. If she is to become Aesir, and later Queen, she will need to be tested, first. While whomever Loki chooses will not be a queen, she will be forever bound to someone as, shall we say, ambiguous, as Loki. Even if he does redeem himself from this madness, Loki will always do as he wishes, to some degree. It is the very nature of his being, and why he was never meant to be king."

"What are you saying?" Frigga asked.

"I am saying that if Loki chooses to bind himself to a mortal, she will need to be tested as well, as she will be responsible for bringing order to his chaos." Frigga watched her husband closely a moment.

"You will accept Thor's choice, then? And Loki's if he makes it?"

"I have spent centuries trying to teach our sons the value of realms outside of our own. It would hardly seem right to deny them in this, if they are serious, and if their choices are wise for Asgard." Frigga's demeanor softened, glad to be reaching a middle ground with her husband.

"Jane will require testing," Frigga said. "I would prefer to wait on Darcy."

"Then you admit you are not sure of Loki's feelings toward her?"

"No," Frigga said. "He cares for her greatly, more than I have ever seen him with a lover here; but I am not sure if that is enough. It is also for his ability to overcome this darkness that I wait. It will be hard enough on her if he loses himself again, for she is more obviously attached. I would not add to that burden unnecessarily." Odin approached his wife until he stood right before her.

"Then I will wait," Odin said. "As long as I can. I am not sure how long I can delay, if we are to come to their aid when their enemies finally reveal themselves." Frigga closed her eyes tightly.

"I feel so helpless," she said. "Who on Jotunheim would have the power to hide themselves from Heimdall? To travel worlds without a Bifrost? Loki is the only one I have ever known to have such skill. And to attack such an innocent young girl. I cannot imagine who these people are in Midgard."

"Indeed," Odin said sadly. "I wish I knew. But we will never be helpless. Have faith in our sons. In the end, it may mean Loki's salvation."

* * *

Spending time in the company of his brother and Jane, while surreal, was the most peace Thor had experienced in quite some time.

It was thanks in no small part that Darcy had let herself be all but consumed by her work with Stark. Every morning she was in his lab at seven in the morning -many hours before she ever ever awoke willingly at home- and did not drag herself out until late in the evening, sometimes breaking in the middle for lunch with either Jane or Loki. As helpful as she had been to them in their first months in Midgard, Thor had never seen the brunette as excited as he did when she was working with Stark. It was pleasant to see that after a week of her moping about, she began acting like her old self again, learning everything she could under the tutelage of Stark and Banner.

This new preoccupation had led his brother to seek entertainment with those whom he was less likely to associate: namely, he and Jane.

He was thankful for Jane being as willing as she was to be in Loki's company. It had taken no small amount of convincing in New Mexico that Loki was truly on a path to redemption, however rocky, slow, or semi-unwilling. She had been equally furious that he had left Darcy alone with him. It wasn't until the night of divide between the Avengers and SHIELD, seeing Loki remain quietly, and even protectively, at her friend's side that she realized that the two had bonded in the most bizarre of ways. Truly, he thought her scientific mind was even curious about his enigmatic brother. Danger had never deterred her from her pursuit of knowledge, sadly, a commonality between the two of them. He had hoped that their more cerebral pursuits would be some kind of bridge between them, one day. He was correct.

His two weeks at Stark Tower were happy ones spent informing Jane of everything he knew of Yggdrasil and the Nine Worlds as they continued to blossom in the romance that had been cut short too soon. Unfortunately, books and history had never been Thor's favorite pursuit. While he knew vastly more than Midgardians, his knowledge paled in comparison to that of Loki, who took great delight in filling in the gaps of his knowledge for Jane on the afternoons they spent together in Jane's makeshift workspace in Stark Tower. Thor had rarely fully appreciated the depth of knowledge his brother held on seemingly limitless subjects. Hearing Jane eagerly do everything she could to pick apart his brother's brain, and to hear him respond with such ease and confidence, was both encouraging and saddening: encouraging that Loki was learning to converse with other humans, especially Jane, and saddening to consider all of the years Thor had spent so little valuing his brother's genius. It was quite humbling.

"What in the world is she doing with you?" Loki asked on one of their afternoons alone when Darcy and Jane dined together for the precious few times Darcy pulled herself from her work. "From Asgard you may be, and advanced in every respect to mortals; but, intellectually speaking, she seems to be one of the more intelligent humans while you scrape the bottom of the barrel of Asgard. What could you possibly have to talk about?"

"We don't do a lot of talking," Thor said with as straight of a face as one could manage. For a moment, he was quite certain his brother could have choked on his silver tongue for how silent he was, almost as if he couldn't believe Thor had made such a comment. Slowly, ever so discreetly, he saw the faintest upturn at corner of Loki's mouth.

"Indeed. Well I suppose if you stuck your talents, which is following instruction, it would be a comfortable situation with any woman, intelligent or fool."

"I could ask the same of you and Darcy," Thor dared. He saw his brother stiffen slightly, preparing for an argument; but Thor tried to keep the conversation light. "She's as jovial and carefree a soul as I've ever met while you've spent almost your entire time on Midgard brooding indoors. I suppose she should be quite adept at drowning you out with her musical device." Thor watched him visibly relax at the non-confrontational nature of his tone.

"It's called an iPod, brother, we have lived on Midgard for over three months. And I do not brood," Loki stated firmly. "And what makes you think you we are 'together,' as you put it?"

"You think I cannot tell when you teleport from your room and leave a projection in your wake?" Thor asked. "It was at your encouragement that I learned to not fall for that." Loki straightened, resting his back against in the rather comfortable living chair of one of the many living areas in Stark Tower. "Otherwise, you have little attempted to hide your claim to her, particularly when Rogers is here. Even she is less obvious than you."

"We get along just fine," Loki said vaguely. "I wish I could say we do not do much talking, but we would both know that for the lie that it is. Darcy's need for verbal communication extends to every realm of her activity, apparently." That actually managed to earn a sound chuckle from Thor, as disturbing as their conversation was. However, if gently teasing him about his relationship with Darcy allowed for even this small window of conversation, than he would take it. Surely neither of the girls would be too upset...

"Are you...happy?" Thor asked. Loki looked quizzically, almost as if he didn't understand the question. "With Darcy?" he finished. "I know this is not your first choice of where you wish to be..." Loki watched his brother for several moments, unsure if he was ready to have this conversation. Seeing his brother looking at him so sincerely -so _desperately_- made it harder and harder each passing day to turn him away. He could almost hear Darcy saying _"In all this time, you haven't forgiven your brother at all?"_ Lately, he honestly felt that he clung to his resentment like a piece of furniture that was out of style, but had simply been in his home so long, he wouldn't know what to do without it; but each passing day convinced him that it was time to throw it out.

"I am...at peace with myself," he replied, "with her," he admitted. "I thought at first she was an itch I wished to scratch to see if I was truly missing anything, truth be told," he said quite bluntly. "Perhaps if I had succeeded my first two attempts to have her, that would have been the case." Thor tried not to grimace at the thought of her being used so shamelessly by his brother, but let him continue. "Then she actually had the nerve to make...friends with me first. She set her trap well, I must admit."

"You feel trapped?" Thor asked. Loki thought a moment.

"I suppose not," he said. "But I see hardly any other explanation. She is a mortal of considerable skill in her field, but is by no means as powerful as your earthly allies. She is beautiful, but many of your mortal friends are, surprisingly, including your Jane now I see. There exists no reason for me to feel the way that I do-" He paused as his own words.

"How do you feel about her?" Thor asked.

"I'm not about to confess my everlasting devotion as you did," he insisted, sounding somewhat insulted.

"I was not asking you to, I was merely curious," Thor said mildly. Loki once again could not believe the conversation he was having with Thor, of all people. Still, he found it strangely relieving to talk about his even stranger relationship with Darcy. Not to mention, it felt surprisingly nice to talk with his brother in relative ease. His heart actually swelled ever so slightly when he realized they were the first easy words they had shared since they day they had marched into Jotunheim. Darcy really was a little miracle worker.

"She's rather dug into my skin like a parasite, I suppose. I can no longer remove her without causing some kind of damage to myself."

"I hope that is not the analogy you used for her," Thor said.

"She only laughs at me," he replied. "Sadly, she is learning my lies, especially when they are to myself, but allows them all the same. Of course now she is off learning Allfather-knows-what with Earth's biggest mouthpiece, and I am left to my own devices. I've chosen to talk to you about my private affairs, of all things, and on occasion watch you and your woman make eyes at each other as she tries to dissect our minds on our knowledge of the universe. Honestly, it is quite disgusting." Thor merely smiled at weak insults from Loki. If he truly felt that way, he would not choose to remain with him; but Thor allowed the rather dull barbs. "Brother," Loki suddenly said. "There is something I must tell you."

"Yes?" Thor replied.

"Mother visited me just after the attack," he admitted. Thor seemed genuinely surprised. Frigga rarely, if ever, visited Midgard. "She told me Heimdall has seen enemies moving, on Earth and in Jotunheim: _my_ enemies. I've been thinking that maybe it be best that I leave. Go to Jotunheim directly. My presence here puts everyone, Darcy especially, in danger. If whoever is following me finds out about her..." Loki did not finish the thought, lacking both need and desire. Thor allowed himself to absorb the shock of this sudden development. "It is regrettable I did not tell you earlier. I thought I could find them on my own. I perhaps could, if I did not fear leaving Darcy, and had only myself to risk. I know that if I remain here, I can easily take her from danger. If I am away, however, I have no idea who the enemy is, nor how or when he will strike. My only hope might be to try to draw them away." A sudden realization dawned on Thor.

Loki was asking him from help. In the sudden chaos of understand, Thor realized that Loki had expressed thought of the safety of others, not even just his lover. Hope swelled in the God of Thunder's chest.

"I fear the attack might have alerted the Council to both your presence and your willingness to protect her," Thor said. "If there is an enemy in Jotunheim working against us, the danger is even greater than was already feared; although, I can't imagine how anyone in Jotunheim would contact anyone here on Earth."

"I have thought about it since mother told me," Loki said. "The only explanation I can gather is that the fault must be mine. I showed the Frost Giants a way into Asgard during your coronation." Thor stiffened slightly at his brother's confession, but reacted in no other way. "If a more clever Jotun studied the way first, he might be able to recreate it, with enough power: more than a Frost Giant normally has." Thor nodded.

"With Laufey's death, any number of potential successors could be struggling for power," Thor said.

"What better way to prove their worth than to capture his murderer?" Loki said humorlessly, "and son." Thor leaned forward and clamped a too heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Laufey forfeited whatever right he had to you long ago," Thor said. "You are the Son of Odin, now, and my brother. Frost giant or not; pain in my ass, or not." He actually manged to wrench a small, indiscriminate smile from Loki. "This so-called enemy will regret the day he declared himself so. We are stronger together. You need not face them alone." Loki stared at Thor for several long moments, searching for mockery or insincerity. He found none, and something inside him began to hurt.

"Sentiment," Loki whispered, an echo of a time that seemed a world away.

"It is not so bad," Thor said. For once, the silence that concluded their conversation was not an uncomfortable one.

After a while, a thought occurred to Thor.

"You don't think," he started, pausing, "Darcy and Jane... talk about... what we were talking about..." he trailed off. Loki stared at Thor blankly before letting out a genuine, loud, hearty laugh.

"Of course not," he suddenly replied very seriously. "Darcy is the most discreet of souls, especially when around two of her closest friends."

* * *

"You make him find you?" Jane asked incredulously.

"You're like a super spy. How long does it take him?" Darcy asked.

"The longest time was five hours and twenty two minutes," Natasha said, a fond memory clearly coming forth in her mind. "It was a good day, when he eventually found me. He's lucky I set a five square mile parameter."

"How long has this been going on?" Darcy asked, excited.

"About a month," Natasha said with a sly smile. "I meant to tell you a few weeks ago when we went out. Then that just became a bigger outing than we thought. I figured I'd wait until things had calmed down." Darcy almost wanted to squeal with excitement for her friend. She had been holding out for Clint and Natasha to finally get it together. Darcy was eternally grateful that Natasha had been forgiving enough in the mess she had caused within SHIELD. The Black Widow was never one to hold a grudge, as she had screwed up plenty of times before -as she put it- and said this kind of thing would blow over eventually.

"But apparently I'm not the only one with stories to tell," the redhead said with a smirk with a meaningful look at Darcy. Even Jane couldn't resist looking at the brunette, more curious than ever as to her relationship with her boyfriend's brother. Darcy looked sheepish. As comfortable as her relationship was with Loki had been since they had...gotten closer... she wasn't sure how she felt about talking about the fact that she was intimate with the former bad guy.

The look on Natasha's face, however, told her that trying to play coy would not work.

"Are you really... together?" Jane asked.

"In a roundabout, almost purely sexual but still friends kind of way," Darcy said hesitantly.

"Darcy!" Jane said quietly. "I was hoping I was wrong, for once."

"Oh whatever. Just because you are banging a Norse myth doesn't mean no one else can," Darcy said defensively. Jane blushed, but smirked all the same. "You would be so selfish. Do you have any _idea_ what it's like to be with someone who can teleport right in the middle of it? Multiple positions just isn't even a thing. And don't even get me started with the body doubles thing."

"Damn," Natasha said appreciatively. Jane mouth hung agape with a bit of salad hovering close to her mouth, but not going in.

"What about you Jane?" Natasha said. "We've spilled."

"I don't think Thor would appreciate that," Jane said shyly, but a smile played on her lips, putting her fork down.

"Have you asked to wear his helmet yet?" Darcy asked.

"What?" Jane asked, curiosity sparking.

"At first I thought wearing the horns would be a little silly, but they kind of grew on me. Him too, apparently."

"I would have loved to have heard that come up in conversation," the Black Widow said, amused.

"His idea," she said. "I suppose it was to be expected when I told him he had to kneel before me."

"Darcy!" Jane said shocked. "You said that?"

"What? He had said something or another to piss me off. I told him he had to earn it that night. He was a little shocked at first, but it did it for him though. But I'm serious. I'd try the helmet thing. I'm sure Thor wouldn't mind you sporting feathers mid-"

"Okay!" Jane said, horrified, but a little curious. She was quiet a moment. "But does he, Loki I mean, he was completely-"

"I know," Darcy said. "I know he doesn't always seem it, but he really has changed a lot, I think," Darcy said. "I know what he's done; but, I trust him, I can't explain it. I don't think he'll ever be the completely honorable, noble, and good hero," she said. "But, it's part of his charm. But he is coming around, I think. Hasn't he been helping you with your research? You've gotten to know him a little."

"Really?" Natasha said, genuinely surprised. Jane nodded.

"He's... absolutely brilliant," the astrophysicist said appreciatively. "I mean, Thor told me he was smart, but I had no idea. The knowledge he has on so many worlds...it's unreal." Darcy nodded, a small, irrational streak of pride swelling in her chest at her friend's praise of Loki. She had no claim to it; but she still liked it.

* * *

"You have found him, then?" the giant, blue creature questioned. Despite the fact that he stood twenty feet over the well dressed human he question, cloaked in the dark majesty of Jotenheim, he inspired little fear in the man.

"I would hardly be here wasting my time if I hadn't," he retorted. His remark was greeted with a deep, but tolerant growl. "He interfered in a household clean-up. He was spotted by some of my men with a 97% positive match."

"And where is he now?" the creature questioned.

"He's with the so-called Avengers," the human said bitterly. "And, unfortunately, I can no longer keep track of them easily; they've left my organization. He would be hard enough to capture him alone. He now has the support of almost all of them."

"He dwells with his enemies?" The giant creature chuckled. "Always adapting. Always surviving: one way, or another."

"If his death is all you require for your assistance with attainment of the Tesseract, then it won't be for much longer," the mortal assured the blue beast of a man. "He has a weakness."

"Oh?" the giant asked. "Please. Enlighten me."

"The girl," the man said. "The one he exposed himself protecting. She can be used to draw him out."

"You know nothing of your enemy," the frost giant growled. "He was raised in Asgard; and Asgard will always demand justice...or vengeance. Kill her, and you will call hammer of judgement of the Eternal Realm upon you."

"Worry not, my temperature challenged friend," the man said. "I have no intentions of killing her any longer. They have all dealt with death before. I was thinking more of a... business opportunity. I happened to have an opening for a pet project, of sorts. One for which I think Miss Lewis will be quite ideal." He paused, looking at the frost giant quite intently. "And with your help; I think we can do far worse to God of Mischief, and all of the Avengers, than kill them. At first, anyway." The giant, intrigued, slowly stepped forth from the darkness, his footstep trembling the very ground, revealing the rest of his massive form. Still, the mortal seemed quite unimpressed.

"What is this project of which you speak?"

"Oh, just a side curiosity really," he said. "Tell me: how do you think Miss Lewis would look in blue?"


	21. Chapter 21

She insisted on having her room. In spite of the fact that every night he would crawl into her bed or she into his, she said they should have their own space, just in case. He would admit that he loved -relatively speaking- her a little for that gesture as much as he hated himself for the need for it.

It had been a month since the four of them had moved to California: he, Darcy, Thor, and even Jane. Tony and Banner also moved back, but they stayed at Tony's house in Malibu. Darcy, in spite of the promise of danger that seemed to loom around the bend, seemed to blossom every day working with Stark. As much as the Iron Man irritated Loki most of the time, he had a grudging respect for the man's ingenuity. Darcy was not allowed to speak of whatever it is she did at Stark's mansion; and surprisingly she kept to that. Still, every day was some new adventure for her; even though to Loki her work just seemed like characters on a computer screen. Although Jane still had the majority of her rather generous stipend she had earned from SHIELD on her last project, she once again took up research at UCLA. Between Darcy's new rather impressive salary with Stark Industries and Jane's grants, the four of them were able to live comfortably in nearby townhouses in Santa Monica. Jane and Darcy had wanted to share an apartment as they had for almost a year before Jane left New York, but the attempt on Darcy's life, however, was some cause for concern. They all thought it best that no one without abnormal powers live with the programmer, should the worst happen. It was a deep cut for Darcy; but one she knew she had to live with.

Darcy referred to herself and Jane as 'sugar mamas.' Loki did not understand her meaning at first. When she had explained it to him, he had of course casually leaned back to cross his arms behind his head and propped his feet up on the couch, a large grin on his face, much to Darcy's amusement. As neither Loki nor his brother had a particular occupation to take up their day, they spent most of their hours lending their powers to Stark and Banner in their research. Whether it be a large amount of power in the form of Thor's lightning or any number of the skills Loki could provide, both Asgardians did what they could to aid the humans who kept them. Loki even found a small amount of contentment in lending assistance to humans. Conversation among Stark and Banner became even somewhat relaxed with time. Stark had even given up on trying to dissuade Darcy on continuing their relationship, either finding it futile or unnecessary.

Surprisingly, the universe was quiet.

* * *

"What is it, my prince?" Darcy sighed one night as she turned around in his arms, resting her head on his chest in her half-sleep, tossing a careless arm around his stomach. "You aren't asleep yet?" Indeed, he had been awake for many hours, silently listening to his human lover snore quietly, despite the fact that she denied ever snoring. He felt the silk of her nightgown brush against his bare side and suddenly some very unquiet thoughts came to mind. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

"My place," he said quietly. He felt her still a moment before resuming her steady breathing so very close to slumber.

"What about it?" she asked sleepily.

"I have been here for almost five months. Thor earned his way home in mere days. I am beginning to wonder if my exile is a permanent one." He felt her shift and plant a kiss on his jaw before laying her head back down.

"Thor had a convenient little brother to send a giant robot to kill him and therefore speed along his maturation process. You should look into getting one of those." He smiled against the top of her hair.

"I would think you more eager to find me nice and safely on the side of good again." He felt her shrug.

"I guess I'm being a little selfish. When you go back to Asgard, you'll take away the best sex of my sad, sad, mortal life with you," she said playfully. "You just take all the time you need. Besides, I think I like you a little bad. Just a little. I don't think I would like you as much if you weren't." Darcy felt him roll her over, pinning her arms gently to her side as he grinned down at her.

"You think you like me bad, hm?" he asked.

"Just a _little_," she reiterated just before his mouth swooped down to capture hers. She struggled to wrap her arms around him; but her arms remained pinned to the bed. She was smiling when he lifted his head, looking down at her. His look was somewhat less playful as he released the hold on her arms. "What is it?" she asked, concerned.

"If I go to back to Asgard," he said, moving his fingers to a random lock of her hair, "You will stay here?" Her brows furrowed.

"Yeah," she said. "Where else would I be?" He was silent as he searched her eyes. She genuinely had no idea what he would answer.

"With me," he said softly. He watched her eyes closely. So open were her emotions in them as they changed from confusion to realization to incredulity.

And then to anger.

"Don't," she said, gently trying to push him off of her. She huffed when she realized he would not be moved.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't say things like that when you don't mean them. Or probably won't mean them later."

"Why would I say it if I did not?" Loki questioned.

"I don't know why you do anything you do, O God of Mischief and _Lies_. I have made extremely sure not to expect anything more from you than this and I'll thank you for not putting any other ideas in my head." She attempted to push him off of her again and he allowed her success this time. She rolled over, wrapping a sheet around herself, her back facing him, as if she meant to go back to sleep. "I'm not the kind of person you take back to Asgard, if you were to take a human at all."

"And who is?" he asked incredulously. This was quite honestly not the reaction he expected the one time he tried to show enough affection and regard as to take her to show her his home. What harm could there be in travelling to another realm? He did it often enough.

"Someone like Jane," she said, clearly trying to hold emotion away from her voice. "A Woman of Science, or something. Capital 'W.' Not her little sidekick. I've never fooled myself into thinking that this is anything more than what it is, which is the two of us having some kind of comfort from someone that's been conveniently close. I've accepted that. Please don't-" she paused, voice cracking. "Just don't."

"_Why should I not take away everything he holds dear? Whether it be his little love bird or her little sidekick."_ Isn't that what he had said to her just before his attack? So often he forgot that the girl basically had a voice recorder in that brain of hers. She tried to hide how his words affected her; but they apparently imprinted themselves on her memory, reminding her of what he was when she repeated them, which was a monster. But no matter how much he had hurt her, she still cared about him in her own way, and yet she was refusing to entertain the idea of going anywhere with him outside of her own path. Truly, he had not planned on taking her to Asgard even just before she had woken up. However, her mentioning so casually that he would have to leave her when he did go back home had wrenched something inside him unexpectedly.

"If we can be lovers here, I see no reason why we could not be the same in Asgard. Would you not enjoy seeing the Realm Eternal?" He pulled her to him, pressing her back to his stomach, wrapping his arm around her as he leaned down to plant kisses on her exposed neck. "There is one golden balcony in the palace of which I am particularly fond. Standing on it, you can see the whole of the city stretching out before you like a gilded paradise. I've stood their countless times, simply marvelling at the beauty of my realm. I can see myself marveling at the sight of you staring out in the place where I have spent so much of my life... and then taking you right there in front of it."

He could feel her tremble as he continued to kiss her neck. Within seconds she had turned around to push him on his back, climbing on top of him. He did _so _enjoy it when she took the lead. She still trembled as she leaned down and pressed her lips to his, framing his face in her small hands. His precious little mortal. In their month and a half together, she had gone from a shy, hesitant bud to a wild, passionate blossom under -sometimes over- his instruction. Experiencing the transformation, knowing that it was he that caused it, was intoxicating.

Where once she had been self-conscious and a even little frightened of him, she was now confident and daring. The little chit had even had the nerve to tell him to kneel before her if he wished to have her one night. It had been the first time she dared say anything so bold to him. Months before, he would have destroyed a human for saying such a thing. However, Darcy had a habit of getting away with a lot of things, especially when she was completely bare; except for his helmet which he had added for the full effect. It only made sense, if she were issuing orders. He was glad she was such a good sport about his fancies.

"Is that a yes, then?" he asked smugly when they broke apart at the lips and joined together elsewhere.

"Nope," she whispered, placing her hands on his stomach. "But I can't say the thought isn't a turn on." He would have frowned at her denial if she had not been keeping him otherwise distracted.

Loki found himself at quite a loss of words when he awoke the next morning to an empty bed. Darcy was rarely able to wake before him, let alone get out of the house before he had even stirred.

He found a small pink note on the refrigerator wishing him a good morning, stating she had left him a small breakfast inside, and that she had left for Tony's to get an some work done. It was decorated with several smiley faces and hearts. Truly, she _had_ been up early. Her motorcycle, which she had purchased since their move to California, hadn't even woken him. He teleported briefly to Stark's mansion to ensure she had arrived, which she had since he saw her motorcycle in the garage, before teleporting back.

He found himself disconcerted as the memory of the previous evening replayed in his mind. Sure the end to it had been more than satisfying, but the conversation they had, or not had, bothered him. She had absolutely refused to entertain the idea of going to Asgard with him, in the event of his reinstatement, even when he tried to be his most persuasive. He couldn't imagine why in the world not. What mortal would not wish to see Asgard? Especially one as curious as Darcy. The more he thought about it, the less it made sense. He thought maybe he could redress the issue when she came home, but he hesitated even doing that. Darcy was rarely abrupt; but she was so the night before. He found that he distinctly disliked it, and was not in the mood to risk upsetting her again.

Her friendship with Agent Romanov, while still evident, had naturally slowed with them being on opposite sides of the country. That left her one true confidant who would know best how to approach such a subject.

* * *

Jane yawned as she sat at her desk, a warm cup of coffee in her hand. It was awful having to go about her research as if she didn't have the information she had directly from the mouths of two aliens. Her colleagues probably wouldn't buy that. Having the insider information did, however, guide her research enough to make a very decent amount in grant stipends.

Thor was respectful of her alone time at her lab where she was able to concentrate on her work. Still, she found herself looking forward to going home every night, knowing he would be there, a smile on his handsome face, waiting for her. All the pain of separation of their romance that had been cut too short had melted away in the idyllic time of being allowed to simply be with him: every night and every morning.

Especially the nights. She _still_ had to work up the nerve to thank Darcy for the helmet suggestion.

Sometimes they would have dinner with Loki and Darcy. Sometimes they would all hang out at Tony's mansion. Jane was pretty sure Tony was actually getting used to having a regular set of friends to torture. In spite of her reservations about Loki, she could see he and Thor rebuilding their relationship every day in their simple Midgardian lives. While she knew Thor was happy with her, there had been an emptiness inside of him with the loss of his brother's friendship. It had pained her to see it, making it somewhat easier to accept Loki into their little circle. If Thor loved him so much, he must have been a good brother once. Jane longed for that to return, for the sake of Thor.

As the weeks went by, Jane let herself believe that Darcy's distance from SHIELD had lowered the threat to them all. Thor and Loki were overly vigilant Surely no one would be stupid enough to try to tangle with the handful of people who had defeated an alien invasion.

In the midst of her introspection and calculations, she hadn't noticed anyone come in (or simply appear, as the case may be).

Loki had watched his brother's lover for quite a few moments unnoticed. Her straight, fine brows had furrowed in concentration over striking brown eyes as she mentally tried to tear apart whatever problem she was solving. In spite of himself, Loki actually had come to admire his brother's choice of a woman for once, mortal though she may be -which was becoming less and a less of a slight in his eyes. Never would he have guessed that his dimwit of a brother would take a liking to a woman of knowledge and intelligence, limited though it was by her own biology. Should his brother be serious of trying to bind himself to her, Loki could think of less appealing Asgardians he could choose. (He shuddered to think of Sif taking his mother's place as queen one day. The woman had the grace and elegance of a Bilge Snipe.)

His presence did not go unnoticed for long as Jane gasped quietly.

"Loki," she said, clearly startled, taking in his usual suit he wore out of doors. "What are you doing here?"

"Good day to you, too, Miss Foster," he greeted, amused. Jane shook her head at herself, an embarrassed part of a smile trying to cover the fact that she was clearly at a loss of words. In spite of her successful attempts to be friendly to him, he could tell she was still unnerved being alone with him. Smart woman, he couldn't help thinking.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, I was just surprised. Good morning. Um, Thor isn't here. I think he is still home, unless he went to Stark's."

"I am not here to speak to Thor. If I was, the last place I would look for him would be a scientific facility at a place of knowledge. I was actually hoping I might speak to you privately." Jane was clearly thrown a bit, tossing her eyes back and forth awkwardly.

"O...kay," she said. "Sure. Would you like some coffee or something?"

"Thank you, no. Although your offer is much appreciated. Perhaps another time." Jane shrugged her shoulders. Taking a sip, she sat on a stool at one of her study tables.

"Have a seat, if you want," she said politely. He formally sat across from her, unsure of how to begin. She seemed to notice his hesitation. She waited awkwardly for a few moments, again tossing her eyes around, trying to take in her situation.

"So," she suddenly began.

"I find myself confused with Darcy as of late," he blurted suddenly. Only Loki could blurt something gracefully. Jane had been about to throw out a few more weak attempts at starting the conversation, but he had dove right in. Realization suddenly dawned on Jane as to why her lover's estranged brother, who had spoken very little to her outside of talking about the realms, had come to her alone to talk. A wave of relief washed over her.

"I don't think a person on this planet could help you with that one, but I'll try," she said. _Darcy?_ Jane sarcastically questioned in her head. _Confuse someone? Noooooo..._

"I normally am able to follow her nonsense, but I fear I am now at a loss," he said. "Last night I offered to take her to Asgard with me, in the event of my reinstatement. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. She became angry and unreasonable." Jane waited for something more apparent to be wrong, but Loki had apparently said all he thought was necessary to diagnose the problem.

"Why would that make her angry?"

"If I knew that, woman, I would not be here," he retorted more sharply than was necessary. Jane straightened, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I..." he hesitated, "apologize. That was rude." Jane was a little shocked at the apology, but accepted it, saying no more of it.

"What I meant was," she said slowly, "are you sure you said nothing else that could possibly have been construed as offensive?" Jane had to marvel for a moment that she was sitting in her lab, drinking coffee with Loki, giving him girl advice about her best friend. Oh, the places the world would take her...

"That was mostly the limit of our conversation," Loki said vaguely. "She kept saying that she didn't expect anything of me, and to not put any ideas in her head, whatever that means. I know she doesn't expect anything from me, I was _offering_." The miscommunication between the two was becoming apparent to Jane, even in the face of Loki's complete lack of understand of Darcy. It was almost unfathomable how a man, or demi-god, of his genius was so very inept at understanding emotions outside of how to manipulate them.

"Well," Jane started, "you sound like you are becoming more... serious. Are you no longer just... friends?"

"Of course we are still friends," Loki said. "Nothing has changed."

"So, you haven't made any kind of commitment to each other?"

"Of course not. Darcy is free to go as she pleases as am I. If I ever found myself as absolutely ridiculous as my brother, Chitauri take me now," he said with a nearly imperceptible sneer. "No offense to you, of course." Jane tilted her head to the side, shrugging her shoulders.

"So, let's say, if Steve Rogers wanted to date her in a more traditional, Midgardian way, you would have no problem letting her go?" Loki narrowed his eyes at the blonde woman who sat observing him quite innocently. _Someone_ had told her about that particular sore spot.

"That adolescent has nothing to do with anything, thank you," he said. She nodded sympathetically.

"Did you say how long you wanted her to stay?" she asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just humor me, here," she said, taking a drink of her coffee. Loki held back a growl, feeling as if all these question would go nowhere.

"I didn't plan the exact day. This was theoretical to begin with. I assume it was made plain she would stay with me indefinitely."

"Humans can't do anything indefinitely, Loki," she said. That piece of insight threw him. "So it would be until one of you left the other, or she died of old age. Is that what you had planned?" Loki said nothing. "So, basically," Jane continued, "you were asking a beautiful young woman with a full life ahead of her to give up almost her entire identity, go to a place far away from everything she knows, to agree to be your plaything for the rest of her natural life, or until you got tired of her or she got too old for you. Let's face it, we both know she's not going to be the one to leave you. Is that about it?"

"Is it a talent of all Midgardians, or just the women, to make everything a person says sound absolutely horrid?" Loki all but pouted to himself.

"Couldn't tell you," Jane said, amused but sad.

"And Thor has made no such offer to you yet?" Jane blushed a little.

"He has mentioned that our future together would have to be in Asgard," she said plainly.

"You seemed to have no such reservation," Loki stated.

"Thor loves me," she said simply. Loki blanched at this. "He would give up a lot to be with me for as long as we have. I could live with the sacrifice, knowing he was equally committed to me." Jane had to admit, Loki looked absolutely uncomfortable. "It looks to me like Darcy isn't asking anything more of you than you are willing to give. It wouldn't be really fair for you to not do the same. She's already risking enough by letting herself care about you. It's a gift. When you leave, someone will have to be the one to sweep up the pieces, but she'll survive, and someone will love her that way she deserves, but don't try to take that possibility away from her."

"I don't like what you are saying," Loki said petulantly. Jane shrugged.

"You're the one who came here," she said.

"This is not what I wanted to hear. I wanted you to tell me how to get her to come with me, not make me feel even more like the villain I am," he said darkly. Jane stared at him a while.

"You don't _have _to be a villain, Loki," Jane said. Loki smiled.

"One cannot fight one's nature, Miss Foster," Loki said in a strange combination of playfulness and sadness. "I can play nice with all of you all I want. It's only a matter of time before the darkness comes again. It's the price to be paid of being born a monster. I suppose it makes this entire conversation moot. I will never be Thor. I would not want to be if I could. My chance of returning home seems dimmer with every day. And Darcy..." he paused a long, painful moment. "I find myself robbing the one person I've come to care about on this planet of her life. I do not even have to have ill intentions to do evil. It comes to me as easily as breathing." Jane was quite surprised at such candidness from someone known for trickery, to her of all people. Part of her was cautious. He could be manipulating her in some way. If he was, color her impressed, as he was one hell of an actor. That defeated look on his face tore at heartstrings she didn't know she had. She was beginning to understand why Thor loved him so much. Why Darcy... loved him so much.

"Well, I have to say, _I'm_ a little disappointed," Jane said. "Aren't you supposed to be the God of Mischief?" Loki frowned at her. Did she dare to mock him? "I thought no one told you what to do, whether it was Thor, Odin, the Chitauri, or a couple of Frost Giants. Thor said you laugh at everyone who has ever tried to control you. Why are you all of the sudden now resigning yourself to being told what you are because you happen to get a little... blue... from time to time?"

Loki actually smiled the most genuine smile she had ever seen grace his features.

"Miss Foster... I do believe I like you."

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Tony said as he busied himself with whatever mechanical creation occupied him. "Everyone knows you guys have been together for over a month now, and yet, by all outward appearances, you are not."

"I guess," Darcy said, focusing on the program she was running to sync with JARVIS, not wanting to talk about this with _Tony_.

"So, you're married, basically?" he tried to confirm. Darcy's shoulders slumped, scowling at her computer screen. Banner, working nearby, shook his head.

"Speaking of marriage,"Darcy said, changing the subject, "when are you and Pepper tying the knot? I haven't gotten my invitation."

"Careful Lewis. I might have to file a sexual harassment suit if you keep interfering in my personal life like this."

"I think we crossed that line when you offered to do body shots with me last week. I don't know why she hasn't left you yet." Tony smiled. He could joke about his new young employee to make her (and her demi-god of a bed-partner) uncomfortable all he wanted, Pepper knew who had his heart, shrapnel and all.

"Ah yes. And did I ever love explaining what they were to Loki," Tony remembered fondly. Darcy chose to change the subject.

"We should be online with the new operating system by tomorrow," Darcy said excited, typing a few more notes in. "It's uploading now. It might take a few days to catch any bugs, but," she smiled. "I think we're finished." Tony came over to check her screen.

"It looks like," he said. "Excellent work, Lewis. I will need you to follow up on smoothing it out."

"Worry not, Sir," JARVIS said. "The glory that is Darcy Lewis is perfect in every way. She will not fail you." Tony eyeballed Darcy, which she met with a grin.

"I might have made some adjustments. He is now an even more intelligent AI."

"Or more artificial," he said. "Now. Since you are finally starting to know a thing or two, we can move on to the fun stuff, right Banner?"

"Right," Banner said, not moving his attention from the microscope he was looking at. "Fun stuff."

"Fun stuff?" Darcy said hopefully.

"Fun stuff," Tony confirmed, walking out of the lab. "Take a break. We'll dive in after lunch." Darcy beamed.

"You got it, boss," she said. "I'm just going to make sure the uploading doesn't have any hiccups and I'll head out."

"Great. Banner you ready?" Tony asked.

"Coming," Banner said. Darcy pouted.

"I never get invited to the super secret science lunch meetings," she said, disappointed. Tony smirked.

"You will after today," he said. Darcy's eyes lit up. "After fun stuff."

With that, the two scientists walked out of Tony's workshop, leaving Darcy alone. The programmer sighed, enjoying the temporary solitude. It was nice to just throw herself into work with Tony and not have to worry about all those inconvenient little feelings surrounding a certain trickster alien who was playing puppeteer with her emotions. She had finally gotten somewhat comfortable with her relationship with him and he had to throw her for another loop. She knew he didn't mean anything by talking about wanting to take her to see Asgard. To him, it was probably just a matter of convenience. He was so careless when it came to thinking about how his words affected her. The fact that his words could mean so much to her and so little to him bothered her in no small amount. She only hoped she could clear her head before she got home.

She stood from her desk, walking over to get a glass of water on the nearby counter. As she sipped her water lazily, she caught sight of a rather terrifying image in the reflection of the glass door to the workshop. The water she had not quite swallowed came out in a rather comical spray, as she whipped around to stare at who she saw before her.

She couldn't be... _exactly_ sure, but if she had to guess his name, she would guess that it started with an 'O' and ended with a 'din All-father.' Just a guess.


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22**

Despite the fact that she had exactly twice as many eyes as he had available, Darcy was quite certain that this was a staring contest she was going to lose. The...man?...looked positively out of place among varying electronic projects and computers. He stood dressed in expensive-looking robes down to his feet, a golden eye patch covering his right eye. It made her very self conscious about her ripped jeans and tank top with Yoshi on it. So many thought zipped through her mind.

A. Thor and Loki were two of the most power people Darcy had ever met or even imagined, and this was the guy the two of them _feared_.

B. Odin was here in front of her.

C. He wasn't in armor, so he didn't look ready to do battle, which was good.

D. _Odin_... was _here_... in front of _her._

Darcy could feel her eyelids starting to hurt, so her eyes must have been very wide. Good lord, he was terrifying. He didn't look mad, at least. He had a very serene, calm look, actually. Being who he was, having banished both of his sons in the past few years, she imagined he'd be more...'Grrr.' But still, terrifying. There were so many things she wanted to just blurt out to ease her nerves in her usual way, but her words caught in her throat.

"You are less verbose than I was told," he finally said. His voice was rich and commanding. If there ever was to be a mighty king sitting high in an immortal world, that's probably what he would sound like.

"I, um," _come on, Lewis, _"actually don't know what to say. I don't think that's ever happened to me before."

"I assume you know who I am?"

"I think I have some pretty solid theories," she replied.

"Do you know why I am here?" he asked her.

"Less clear on that," she said, her voice higher-pitched in her nervousness. This guy could probably literally kill her with a thought. Why was he here? Did she do something bad during Loki's banishment? Well... besides the obvious. She could feel herself blushing at her own contemplation. _Dammit! Not the time!_ "Are you here to take Loki and Thor home?"

"Why would I involve you if I were?"

Darcy blew air out her mouth in a quizzical expression of confusion, causing a raspberry sound. "Well, I can't really see any reason you would visit me; so that was as good as any guess." She didn't sound flippant, did she? No getting flippant with the scary man. "I-if that's okay with you," she tried to amend.

"You need not be nervous, child, I am not here to hurt you," he said.

"Kay," she replied, still hesitant.

"Though, you are partly correct. It is for Loki's reinstatement that I am here."

"So...you think he is ready to be good again?"

"Being good, unfortunately, is not required of him." Darcy tilted her head, confused. "But this is the last step in his journey to return home." Darcy still stared at Odin nervously, unsure of why in the world he was talking to _her_ about it.

"Okay," she said, "I'll bite. What... is that?" She hoped she would stop stuttering soon. "Loki says he doesn't even know what he's supposed to do."

"Indeed he doesn't: I never told him. He wasn't ready to hear it." Darcy frowned.

"And...I...am?" she asked, uncertainty penetrating every syllable.

"You must be," he said vaguely. "What I told Loki is that he must prove himself worthy of his title. He is a Prince of Asgard, and shall we say, a keeper of Mischief. I believe your people used the term 'God,' at one point. Although flattering, it is hardly accurate. Still, Loki represents a certain side to the balance of the universe. One cannot understand order without seeing chaos, just as one cannot appreciate life with unbreakable rules. It was always Loki's place to help watch and guide the entropy. Guiding chaos might seem contradictory; but Loki has always played the rules as he saw fit." Darcy's mind imagined that scene from _Scanners_ when that guy's head exploded. It was awful.

"Well, him trying to bring an alien invasion on our world was chaotic," she ventured. "Wasn't he just doing his job, in that case?" She was probably hoping for it, but she could have sworn he smiled for a quick, brief, half-second.

"He is also of Asgard," Odin continued. "He must learn to obey his king. To counsel him, tell him when he is wrong; but in the end, his loyalty must be to Asgard and its leader if he is to remain its prince." Darcy thought a moment.

"I'm guessing telling him he had to learn to obey Thor wouldn't be exactly the best thing to have told him right after his defeat." Darcy watched as Odin looked at her closely for a moment, an unreadable expression spreading over his aged features; but he nodded his head in agreement. "Why are you telling me this?" she suddenly asked. "Not!" she quickly amended, "that's it's not...um..._great_ meeting you. I just...I don't know what I have to do with any of this."

"Because, Darcy Lewis of Midgard, it is you who must decide when Loki is ready to reclaim his position." A short, loud, nervous laugh bubbled out of Darcy's chest before she could hold it down, but her face immediately returned to a rather horrified expression.

"You're serious," she said, more to herself as a half-question, half-revelation. She looked wildly around, at the workshop she was in. Did he see what she was wearing? She had a cartoon dinosaur on her shirt. "Why?" she asked, bewildered.

"It is a fitting test that was decided for you. It is regrettable, but necessary."

"Test?" she said, her pitch rising again. "I didn't know I was supposed to be studying. Will there be any extra credit options?"

"No," Odin said, once again with an unreadable expression for Darcy on his face.

"So, am I supposed to call you? I don't think any of the mobile networks reach outer space."

"Not quite," Odin said. He held out his hands as something appeared.

The Scepter.

_The_ Scepter. Loki's control-y stick that did pretty much whatever he wanted with all the power of the Tesseract. Her eyes grew impossibly wide again, as she looked at it.

"Thanks, but, I'm more comfortable with my taser."

"Take it," he said. His tone left little room for argument, even from Darcy.

"Okay," she said reluctantly, starting to slowly reach out her hands for it. Bad things happened the last time that thing touched her. "I will warn you that I do not have a license for this." Her hands suddenly stopped just above it as she asked, "Am I going to set this thing off?"

"It is possible," he said. Was he _teasing_ her? Her frown deepened as she finally laid her hands on it. He waited until she had a grip on it before he removed his hold. She stood there awkwardly, surprised at how heavy it was.

"Now what?" she asked.

"This has stayed in our vault since Loki's defeat," he said. "In the right hands, it will be an amazing asset. It is a fitting gift for Loki, when he is ready. When you decide that the time is right, you will bestow this upon him, and he will be allowed to return."

"What if I am wrong?" she asked.

"If you act rashly, and try to skip the full extent of his rehabilitation, Loki may very well slip back into darkness with the lure of power, and possibly be lost forever. There will be no measure to the damage he could do to Asgard or any realm before it can be reclaimed." Darcy could feel her bottom lip trembling.

"That's it?" she said airily. "No pressure. Got it. And...if I pass this... test?"

"If you pass this test, Loki will be restored his rights and title as my second born. As for you, there may come a day when you desire something which I can grant. This service will never go unrewarded." Darcy nodded. Well...being owed a swell from a demigod was good enough, she _guessed_. "There are things that have not yet come to pass that would bring understanding to my actions. In the meantime, I believe you can take this as a lesson yourself in trusting the wisdom of your elders, child." She looked sheepish for a moment. She supposed it would be silly to question a millennia old being with her twenty-three year old brain.

"I don't get any of this, for the record," she said. "But I guess it makes as much sense as anything else in my life. What am I supposed to do, hide this under my bed?" She was _pretty_ sure Loki would find it.

"To aid you in your task, I will grant you the power to hide the scepter with your mind," Odin said simply. "You will be able to call it forth or dismiss it with your will."

"Where does it go?" she questioned.

"It goes into the gap between time and space in the hollow between all dimensions. Its energy will remain linked to you in your mind."

"Oh," she replied, not expecting such an exact non-answer.

"Well?" he said expectantly. "Try it." Darcy wasn't sure she knew exactly how. Easily enough however, she imagined the scepter away and out of her hands, and it was gone. She imagined it reappearing, and it did. She did this three times until she felt comfortable, and once more because it was freaking _cool_.

"Okay," she said.

"I do, truly wish you the best of luck, Darcy Lewis. Asgard would not inflict this upon you if it were not absolutely necessary and possible." He paused. "You have suffered greatly at the hands of my son," he said, "and for that, I am sorry. You have also shown compassion and the grace to give him the gift of friendship, and perhaps even more, in spite of those things. Loki has come very far in his stay here on earth. I know his mother and I have you to thank for no small part of it." Darcy looked down at the floor, emotion building up behind her eyes, threatening to spill out.

"He's come a long way on his own," she said. "Will you see him?" she asked, "before you leave?" Odin stared at her for a while.

"It was not my intention," he said plainly. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious," she said. "He might like to hear from you. He has just been very confused, that's all. I assume that I can't tell him about any of this." He stared at her a moment.

"That would be unwise," he said. "I will take your concern into consideration before my departure." Darcy looked hopeful.

"Thank you," she said, "your...majesty?" His reaction was one of general warmth. She could tell.

"Thank you," he said. "Darcy of Midgard."

With that, he vanished.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: I have a beta! *does happy dance* I would like to officially send out thanks for the kind soul who has taken on the task of going through this increasingly long story and fixing all the errors I never see and generally being awesome.

* * *

**CHAPTER 23**

_She couldn't move. She could barely breath, he was so heavy over her. It still didn't matter. Her only will was to obey. If this is what he required, than this is what she would do. It was difficult not to wince when he squeezed her wrists which he had pinned above her head too tightly. But she couldn't show discomfort. He would punish her if it didn't look like she enjoyed it. _

_ "You were made to be ruled," he whispered in her ear, his hot breath contrasting with the icy pool of fear that seemed to gather at the back of her neck._

Darcy awoke in a cold sweat so short of breath that she thought her chest would collapse in on her. For the life of her, she couldn't stop shaking. The only other thing she could feel besides the freezing grip of fear on her spine from her dream was the gentle, almost indiscernible, hum of energy in her brain. The scepter, and by extension the Tesseract, ever reminded her of its presence inside her mind.

She felt a kiss on her shoulder and warm arms around her stomach, just as she had felt them for the past three nights she awoke gasping for breath, if not screaming, from sleep. The man of her nightmares was the very one to comfort her when she was thankfully able to wake. She hadn't given him the scepter. He hadn't become evil. He didn't have her controlled.

She shivered, recalling other things that he wasn't doing while controlling her.

"It's okay," Loki soothed. "I have you." Darcy couldn't stop trembling, trying so hard to erase what hadn't even happened. She could feel his long, elegant fingers gently rub her back as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

"I'm going to get some water," she said, moving to get out of bed. He held her fast.

"Stay," he said gently. "I will get it." She hesitated a moment, but nodded to accept one of his more considerate acts. Loki Odinson served no one: he had made it clear once. The simple gesture helped sweep away the terror she felt for what could happen if she made a grave mistake regarding the rather powerful object in her possession.

"_Every owner of this Cube has an imprint of sorts on it; even you, for you hold it now. Their secrets and power are held within. Sorcerers and scientists from across the nine realms have held this for millennia. If you concentrate, you can take the knowledge they've left behind."_ Loki's words spoken in what seemed a lifetime ago had haunted her since the day Odin had helped her hide the scepter in her _head_. She _still_ didn't know how that even worked. One thing she did know was that she had barely been able to sleep for three days. After Odin's visit, Tony had sent her home. She had clearly not been in any mind to handle whatever "fun stuff" they had planned and he said they would do it later. The show of concern on Tony and Banner's part had been surprising. In addition to taking the day off, she had also stayed home the day after, and then, thankfully, she had the weekend to reflect. Every waking moment she could hear the constant lull of the Tesseract. She could hear voices that seemed to span across lifetimes and galaxies, but wasn't able to make heads or tails out of any of it, just like the day Loki had held the Cube with her. She had managed to make it quieter, though, to the point where she could almost ignore it.

Besides, it wasn't the noise of the scepter that woke her up at night.

Every day she hid it from Loki felt like it was another betrayal. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about Odin -a part of her actually thought he was kind of cool- but she hated that he was making her lie to Loki. Surely _he_ had done that enough for many lifetimes. She wondered if she was being petty: Odin had lied, but it was to keep Loki from feeling different. She thought she understood, mostly, but it wouldn't stop her from being ticked.

When she had come home the day Odin gave her the scepter, she could tell from the grave and taciturn mood vibrating off of Loki that Daddykins may have actually paid him a visit. She hadn't expected that. Since Loki hadn't divulged why he had been so quiet, either, she supposed that made them even in the secret-keeping department. He hadn't been altogether unhappy; he was merely more contemplative than usual. It must not have gone too badly if he wasn't raging around their apartment. That was a step forward. Curiosity burned in her every cell as to what they talked about, but she kept her mouth shut. Unwanted questions for him could result in unwanted questions for her. She looked up as he walked back into her room with a glass of water, handing it to her as he sat back down on the bed, and she offered a quiet thank you as the cool water filled in the dry cracks of her mouth.

"This cannot go on," he said. "Have you considered seeing a physician?" She looked up at his face for the first time that evening, genuine concern in his eyes. No. He wasn't that same person from her nightmares. That person had never existed: not to that extent of cruelty. That person would never exist. That wasn't the man she lo-

Shit.

Damn.

Son of-

She almost choked on the water she was drinking. Eyes squeezed tightly, she place the cup on her nightstand.

"Just stay with me," she said quietly laying back down, facing away from him and pulling his arms back around her. Dammit to hell, she was actually in love with the bastard.

"I'm here," he said. "Darcy, I wish you would tell me what is wrong." Darcy squeezed her eyes tightly again, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes.

"You don't want to know, trust me," she said.

"You could not be further from the truth."

"Women troubles, Loki," she said impatiently. The age old deterrent should surely shut him up.

"Darcy, you will not be able to scare me off by blaming this on your biological cycle. That was two weeks ago." Leave it to _Loki_ to be unintimidated by her monthly surf of the Crimson Wave. Jerk.

"I'm not really sure, Loki. I don't feel sick; I just haven't been sleeping well. It's probably just anxiety. We recently finished our project and now we're moving onto something else. I must be nervous or something." _Liar_. She took much care not to bite at her bottom lip. Loki told her that's how he always knew when she was trying to hide something. At present he did not seem convinced, but let the matter drop, finally lying back down to settle in behind her. She could feel him loose magic on her as a wonderful warm feeling seeped into the exhausted muscles of her body. A dreamless sleep immediately drifted her away.

* * *

"You look even worse than last week," Tony said.

"It's nice to see you too, dear," Darcy said, slinging her bag down onto her desk. "I went to the doctor. I just had a vitamin deficiency and I was slightly dehydrated." It wasn't a lie. Although she just might have avoided telling him it was because her mind was busy hiding a link to a very powerful energy source. A technicality at best. "I've got some supplements and a bigger water bottle. I'll be right as rain. Now come on, I've been waiting all weekend." Tony gave her a very hard, serious, distinctly un-Tony look as Banner approached them.

"Are we going to do this today?" Banner asked. He seemed more anxious than normal. Darcy's interest was piqued. Was Banner going to work with them too? She turned back to Stark, who was still looking her over.

"Alright," he said. "Come on." Darcy was able to put aside her misery from the past several days to be excited about whatever the two of them had been concocting. They went over to Banner's section of the workshop. It was distinctly different from the rest of it. Microscopes and vials dominated the counter space rather than mechanical parts and bits of scrap metal. It was equally as messy though. Darcy couldn't understand how either of them ever found anything. The only orderly surface in the entire area was her desk. While her living space usually resembled a tornado aftermath, Professional Darcy was neat as a pin.

"Don't touch the slides," Banner said, sharply enough to give Darcy pause.

"Got it," she said. "What are you guys doing?"

"These," Banner explained, holding up a small set of vials, "are Neural Recognition and Synapse Adapters. I've been working on them for several years now. Long story short, they are meant to lay pathways in the brain to help some parts of the mind connect with other parts. One dose creates one connection and a second creates another and they meet in the middle. Different parts of the brain have to be active in order to place them, but that is...usually easy enough. They have had some success in the treatment of sufferers of Alzheimer's, although the continued degradation of the disease tends to destroy the created pathways. There are other demographics, however, that can benefit from them." Darcy looked at Banner for several long moments.

"Like big green rage monsters trying to recognize friends mid-Hulk?" she ventured. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and she turned to see Tony, a large smile on his face.

"That's my girl," he said. "See? She'll be perfect."

"While you are most likely right, perfect for what?" she asked, trying not to beam at Tony's compliment. He may be an arrogant jerk, but he was a super-cool, genius arrogant jerk, and she couldn't deny his praise meant a lot to her.

"We are going to start testing it," Tony said. "We've developed a new program that will allow us to control the dosage more closely. The process is going to be painful. Needless to say, an error in any degree could cause Greenie here to get a little mean."

"Won't you need to be a Green Meanie?" Darcy asked. "If you're trying to lay new paths, you'll have to lay them when the amygdala is activating the limbic system, since that is where the Hulk comes out of, right?" She received two very distinctly blank looks. It took her a moment to realize why.

Since when did she know jack about neural science?

"It's called the internet. What?" Her quick defense sounded unconvincing, even to her. Their eyes continued to dart back and forth between each other and her.

"Right," Banner said. "Well, you are correct," he said slowly, "and the majority of the work will have to be done with the Other Guy. It will need to be injected into me in a very specific way though, so that the two serums can 'find each other,' so to speak, and help make connections."

"Well, what do you need me for?" Darcy asked. "If you just needed the program, am I done?"

"Unfortunately no," Tony said. "No one is going to know that program better than you. I'm going to have to be in the suit focusing on trying to keep him under as much control as possible. So I'll need you there to run the program, and if anything should go wrong, you'll be the best one to know how to fix it. We'll have to figure out a way for you to do this from a remote location." Darcy frowned a bit.

"I'll have to rely on cameras remotely. If he's all Sir Smash-a-Lot, I'll be toast, because there is no chance those cameras will not be destroyed. Not to mention, I don't think you being alone with the Hulk is a good idea, do you? Have you thought about asking Thor or Loki to help keep him under control? I know you didn't want anyone else in on this, but they can help you." The two scientists looked at each other again.

"We considered asking Thor to assist us," Banner said, "but we still do not think involving Loki is a good idea."

"Why not?" Darcy asked. Considering the fact that less than half a year ago they had been fighting Loki for their lives, it would be rather irrational to be peeved, but she still could not help it. He had been with them for four months now. During the last month he had spent many days helping the two of them, and even Jane, in less classified work, not to mention he saved her life over a month earlier. "It would allow me to be here," she said. "If anything goes wrong, he could teleport me away."

"He could also make the situation worse. The last time Loki got involved with the Hulk, it ended poorly, to say the least," Tony said. Darcy bit her tongue. As much as she wanted to stand up for Loki, she couldn't deny the validity of the argument. Yes, he _had_ been helping them here and there, but attempted world enslavement tended to overshadow small acts of service. "Call me crazy -not really- but inviting the guy who tried to take over our world a few short months ago isn't my idea of a good time. Unfortunately, I don't have the advantage of him whispering sweet nothings in _my_ ears to improve my opinion of him." Darcy could not stop the eye roll this time, but she didn't argue.

"It's your decision," she said. "But I would feel safer, for all of us, if Thor and Loki were there. We're supposed be helping Loki, sweet nothings or no. He _really_ is trying. We can have him teleport heavy things around the office all day long, but that doesn't mean a thing if we don't trust him. If we give him something where he can genuinely help us, it might be able to do all of us some good. It would be irresponsible to try to do this without help, especially when you have two very capable people so readily available."

"Okay, who _are_ you, and what have you done with Darcy?" Tony asked. "No arguing: just clear, concise reasons, and ultimate acceptance of what I'm going to do? I can't make fun of you for any of that." The brunette shrugged her shoulder casually.

"Just saying," she said, crossing her arms.

"Have you been brainwashed again?"

"You wish."

"I _do _wish. Maybe I should ask for some tips from the stalk of asparagus you're, as the Cap would say with a pretty blush, _fonduing_. You'd be a lot easier to deal with if you just did what you were told." Darcy arched a brow at the billionaire who was now just trying to get under her skin.

"Oh, don't worry, Tony. Just like he found out real quick: we can have _so_ much more fun this way." Tony tried to hold it in, but he could help the sly, reluctant smirk at the corner of his mouth.

"That is most disturbing thing I've heard all week," Banner, who had returned to work during the bickering, chimed in.

* * *

"Absolutely out of the question," Loki said. "I will not allow it." Darcy could feel her eyebrow rising up over her glasses with every word out of his mouth. "I'm surprised they would even suggest such a thing."

"It isn't for you to allow," she said. "I was asking if you wanted to help."

"Do you even know what could happen?" he asked angrily.

"I believe it was _I_ that told _you_ about the Hulk, thank you," Darcy retorted. "Yes, I know what could happen. I spent two weeks trying to get 'what could happen' to happen on the SHIELD helicarrier. I don't recall you having any reservations about him being on board when I was busting you out of their holding cell." Loki growled.

"It was different then, and you know it," he said lowly.

"Was it?" Darcy asked sharply, turning from him and heading upstairs. She did not see the confused look on his face which quickly turned to irritation as he followed her.

"What is that supposed to mean, you foolish girl? Of course things are different." She made a point to attempt to close her door in his face, which only served to anger him further.

"Aside from more pleasant sleeping arrangements, not really," she said bitterly, sitting on her bed to unlace her shoes. "You still flounce around here with little consideration for anyone else. We're all still here for your disposal. I've spent the last four months trying to do everything I can to make all this easy for you. I finally have the opportunity to do something... just... really meaningful and important and cool with my tiny, plain, mortal life that is _my choice_, and you have the nerve to say you won't allow it? Who do you think you are?"

The question was quite a shock for Loki. He had supposed their current relationship gave him at least some influence in her decisions. She certainly liked to put her little stamp of approval on his actions. Granted, it was no formal understanding. He watched as she changed into the t-shirt and sweatpants she preferred to wear at home. He had to suppress the brief wave of desire at seeing her even remotely undressed. By the halls of Valhalla, he still wanted her, even when he thought he'd start bleeding from the ears with frustration at her obstinacy.

"I do not wish to take anything from you, Darcy," he said, his tone still a little sharp. "I am concerned for you, you little twit."

"Then _help_ me," she said, ignoring his insult with her adapted ease. "If anything goes wrong, you can just take us away, right?"

"In theory, yes," he conceded. "But a million things could go awry. I am reluctant to entertain the indulgence of any activity where there is even a small possibility that you could be at the mercy of the beast."

"Don't call him that," Darcy insisted. "Banner is our friend, and the whole point of this is to make it easier for him to control it. You could _really_ help to do good with-"

"And the plot finally reveals itself," Loki said, irritated, crossing his arms over his chest. "Darcy, it seems to amuse you and my brother that I play nice with your scientists and so I try to oblige, but I am not one of your little heroes. I have no interest in doing good here." Darcy sighed deeply, her body suddenly feeling twice as heavy. The excitement she had felt mere moments ago seemed to flee her body, leaving only a cold and almost lifeless shell behind.

She was grasping for reasons to be angry. The fact was that Loki was being a concerned friend and she was being a real bitch to him, and she knew it. There had been many times she found herself behaving poorly and not being able to stop herself. She also knew why: Darcy didn't only want a concerned friend. It was now her heart alone that seemed heavier. It was as if Loki was no closer to his redemption than he was when he returned from Asgard. Odin had told her it wasn't Loki's job to be good, but it was his job to be loyal, basically. Getting him to be a good person wasn't her objective anymore. She had focus now, at least. When he learned to trust the judgement of Thor, he could leave. He was no closer to that than he ever was.

She wasn't playing house with a demi-god anymore. His redemption was her responsibility, as well as his, since he wouldn't be out of her life until then. As if fate had not been cruel enough, she now found herself in love with him. Every moment he was there from now on would only be another twist of the knife that felt lodged between her stomach and left lung.

Loki immediately noticed the change in the air. She wasn't arguing anymore.

"Close the door on your way out, please," she said weakly. Loki looked at her blankly, deep lines carving themselves in between his brows.

"Darcy?" he said. That mixture containing hurt and innocence of which, even now, he somehow seemed capable however rarely he used it, coated her name as it fell from his lips. She had promised herself she would stop. As soon as the smallest inkling of anything beyond infatuation revealed itself, she would stop. There was absolutely nothing good that could ever come of loving a god of Mischief. Her lip trembled, tears slipped from her eyes, knowing she was going to probably regret what she was about to do.

"I can't do this," she whispered. "I promised myself I would end it when it wasn't fun anymore. When it was too dangerous."

"Good," Loki said. "Then you should call Stark tomorrow and tell him you will not participate in this foolishness." He watched as Darcy gave an abrupt, painful chuckle. It was like he went out of his way to misunderstand her when he wanted.

"I'm talking about this, Loki," Darcy said. She could still feel the warm tears falling down her cheeks. As much as she hated crying in front of him, there would be no avoiding it. She avoided his eyes for as long as she could, choosing instead to watch the screensaver from her laptop for a few long seconds before forcing herself to look at him. His face held an expression that would probably be burned into her mind for all the future nights she could picture herself curled into a tight, sad little ball reaching out for someone who wasn't there. She would remember his face just as it was now: mouth slightly ajar, green eyes as wide as she'd ever seen them, and fine brows slightly raise in a strange mixture of shock and disbelief. It was only for a brief moment, as he seemed to restore a cool veneer quickly.

"Very well," he said. It seemed like hours had passed since anything was last said. "I suppose I would consider it beneath me to ask why. However, I find myself curious none-the-less."

"Because I'm in love with you." There. It was out of her system. He could tear her to pieces with his mockery and then she could move on and focus on her job. As his facade of indifference shifted yet again into something unreadable, Darcy started laughing. It was a weak attempt to pump endorphins into her body, she supposed, as she covered her mouth lightly with one hand, trying to stifle the hollow chuckles. "My god, it sounds even dumber out loud than it did in my head. Oh well." she gave a half-hearted, hopeless shrug, another burst of empty laughter escaping her.

"They all tried to warn me," she continued, staring at some fascinating pattern on the wall as she slowly shook her head in her own disappointment. "Natasha tried to warn me. Tony tried to warn me. _Steve_ tried to warn me. Steve." She said the name as if she suddenly remembered something. "I could have been cruising around on a motorcycle bigger than mine with someone who could possibly, actually love me one day. He said I could come with him, but I, in my infinite wisdom, chose a man who has to force himself not to picture me as an insect that might as well be a soulless droid made to be ruled." She looked at him again, but was too overcharged to try to read whatever vibe he was giving off. She started laughing again, only this time, it seemed to be intermingled with sobs.

"I mean, I _knew_ I've always found a certain kind of satisfaction in self-destruction. When I don't have any choice in my own fate, I suppose it's my own little petty way to spite anyone who would ever actually _need_ something from me. I've managed to outdo myself this time, I'll tell you that. Now," she said. "Can you please leave? I have a lot feeling sorry for myself to do before tomorrow."

Loki watched with a kind of detached awareness as she disappeared into her washroom. He heard the sound of her blowing her nose a few short seconds afterward and her shower start running. He was vaguely aware of his instructions to leave. He usually balked at being told to do anything. Instead, however, he found himself slowly backing out of her room.

_Did your silver tongue turn to lead_? he heard echoing in his mind.


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER 24**

Thor knew something was wrong. Loki had called to ask him to go out for a drink. Loki rarely drank, and he called Thor to socialize even less. The proposed combination of both caused the God of Thunder some concern.

Nevertheless, he came at his brother's call, prepared for anything Loki might be up to. Fortunately, the object of his unease was only sitting quietly in a small lounge not far from their house. The waiter was clearing away three glasses of what appeared to be Loki's favored scotch.

"It looks like you have started without me," Thor said jovially, sitting down. "Where is Darcy?"

"She is at home," Loki replied darkly.

Filled with concern, Thor missed the bitter tone in which his brother spoke. "Alone?" he asked, not hiding his alarm.

"I am watching," Loki replied cooly. "I am _always _watching. Quite the role reversal since I first came here." The server arrived with another scotch for Loki and what had to be the largest beer they offered. Thor was struck by the realization that Loki had ordered it before he arrived. He picked it up, offering a thankful toast to his brother. Loki nodded in acknowledgement, downing his drink quickly.

"Are you two quarreling again?" Thor asked sympathetically, but with a hint of humor in his voice. "It must have been quite a spectacle if you've been driven to drink here with me, finally." Loki smiled bitterly as he let the tickle of the liquor make its way down his throat. Hardly equal with that of Asgard, but it would do. He wasn't sure if he could get half as pissed as he wished to be on the weaker spirits of Midgard, but he was willing to try.

"For the last time, apparently," Loki said, finally meeting eyes with his brother. The blonde's brow furrowed, suddenly picking up on the fact that his brother's mood was slightly more foul than it had been lately.

"You have...left her then?" Thor asked. A hollow and bitter smile formed on the trickster's mouth.

"Yes, brother," he said sharply. "That is why I am here fruitlessly trying drink myself away with you as company."

"She left you?" Thor said incredulously.

"Yes," Loki snapped, "moments after she declared to love me, no less. These mortals have a strange way of showing affection." Thor said nothing, merely taking another long drink of his beer as he absorbed this new development. So Darcy had finally admitted deeper feelings to his brother, then promptly broke off their relationship after. As much as it pained him to see his brother so clearly unhappy, he was grateful Darcy had at least been honest with him in her quest for self-preservation. "You agree with her then?" Loki questioned sharply, watching Thor's expression intently, trying to discern his thoughts. "Better to leave the monster alone before one gets too attached." Thor could have strangled his younger sibling just then.

"You think she left you because of _that_?" Thor asked, straightening and giving his brother as condescending a look as he could.

"She just _assumed_ I could never care for her the same way. She didn't even give me a chance to...say anything," Loki said. Thor downed the rest of his drink, setting the mug heavily on the table.

"Another!" he called loudly. "I would have thought that this would have been relieving news to you. You never made any overtures of being in love with her. She is at least attempting to allow the two of you to walk away with some dignity. If you _did _love her, you wouldn't have left her without having told her. Few have ever been able to keep you from saying anything you please, least of all Darcy. I have no doubt that you care about her in your own way, but that might not be enough any longer. I know it does not seem so, but she is trying to do right by you, as well as herself." Loki rolled his eyes.

"For _once_, can you simply be on my side? I did not call you so that you could remind me of the virtues of Darcy Lewis. You are supposed to call her names and tell me that I am blameless. Is that not what is done? If I wanted to be reminded of my faults, I could have called Jane." Thor tried to hide his amusement behind his fresh drink, fully aware of his girlfriend's conversation with his brother from the week before.

"Forgive me, of course," Thor said. "She is a heartless wench whose ancestors will not be remembered." Loki frowned.

"Not about her parents. She is sensitive about that," Loki said, almost reluctantly. The absence of Darcy's parents was one of the many things she had confided in him. The bubble of his anger deflated a bit as he forced himself to defend against the offhanded comment he himself had called for, however silly it was. It would have hurt her if she had heard it. Thor was taken a bit by surprise, as he had not meant the barb quite so literally, but merely for the trickster's benefit. It became increasingly difficult to hide his humor as his brother continued to attempt to protect Darcy's feelings, even when he wished to insult her in her absence.

"Very well. She is a silly girl who will weep tears of agony when she realizes what she has given up," the God of Thunder said helpfully. If the perception of Loki's double served him correctly, she was already doing so. Suddenly, insulting Darcy seemed less fun.

"And she is a poor dresser," Loki added, almost as if he wished to spite the part of him that still wanted to stand up for her.

"Yes. Those unflattering garments look better fitted for a child. They pull far too tightly to be comfortable or attractive." Of course Thor was referring to Darcy's usually cartoonish t-shirts. They weren't exactly made to accommodate Darcy's form and usually did pull tightly around her rather generous curves. Darcy's curves. Blast and damnation. He had a very vague inkling that his brother was trying to bait him. It was, however, doubtful that his brother had concocted such a casual comment for the strict purpose of getting him on such a train of thought. Not dumb, stupid Thor... The great thundercloud himself watched as the emotions shifted on his brother's face several times before he settled on a mild pout. "You will be much happier when you can return to bedding women of Asgard who are not so indecisive about their attentions." The thought made Loki's fifth drink of the night taste like ash on the way down.

"I...hate...you," Loki said, waving for another drink. This earned a hearty chuckle from his brother, who was, for once in a great while, confident that the exact opposite was true.

"What could _I_ have done to cause such ire? It is not on my account that you are here," Thor replied.

"Why is everything always so easy for you?" Loki questioned angrily, causing Thor to sober immediately. "You come to earth, you find a woman you claim to love within days, spend over a year apart, and yet you are ready to spend the rest of _her_ life with her upon your reunion? So little thought to consequence? Or are you prepared to ask Father to make her an Aesir?"

"I have always had a mind to keep things simple, when possible," Thor replied, leaning into a more relaxed position on his chair and resting an elbow on the back of it. "I love Jane. She is clever, kind, and is a good match for me. I see no reason in wasting time keeping her guessing, for she has little time to spare. I will request for her to be made an Aesir when I think the time is right." Loki glowered at the next drink that had been brought to him from the server who seemed to be rather shocked that he was still standing. However, he was causing no disruption, and they had yet to cut him off.

"I doubt I could do enough penance in this lifetime to earn such a boon from the All-Father," Loki said bitterly. A sudden understanding dawned on Thor as he watched his brother down yet another drink, a scowl carved into his features. Clearly, the conversation Loki had with Jane, had been turning over in his mind. Thor felt a crack in his heart start at the top and work its way down to his stomach. His brother was in love with a mortal, in spite of all wishes to the contrary, and saw no possibility of ever being given the chance for her to earn the ability to spend the centuries at his side, as it would surely be granted to Thor. In that moment, the God of Thunder was almost sure he preferred his brother's madness to the absolute defeat on his face. As much as Thor hoped Odin would not hold Loki's crimes in the balance for such a request, there was no way they could be ignored. If only he were king, he would not even require a test from Darcy, if it meant his brother's happiness. Alas, it was for that exact reason that he was not yet king.

"Could you not be content with the time she has?" Thor asked. "It would be better than losing her now, would it not?" A hollow laugh escaped Loki as he slowly lifted the empty glass with his mind, spinning it around in mid air. He could stand to let loose his magic on something just then. Steve Rogers sounded like good target practice. (He had to remember to figure out exactly when the soldier boy had apparently asked Darcy to ride off into the sunset with him. Loki wouldn't _kill_ him. There were worse fates than death.)

"I have learned that I can accept being denied the throne," Loki said, melancholy drenching every syllable. "It was never the thing itself that I wanted anyways. Now it seems that my desires were fulfilled by that ridiculous creature, and I am not even sure how they were. For _that_ then to be denied me..." He did not finish as his eyes closed tightly, his hand coming to rub his forehead. "I would rather throw happiness away with both hands myself than to give Odin the chance to take it from me. Perhaps she is right, and it is all the better that the bandage be removed quickly instead dragging the process out, as Midgardians say." The metaphor was more accurate than Loki cared to admit to himself. He slowly let the glass come to a rest back on the table, a long silence drawing out before them as Thor finished his drink.

"If those are your feelings on the matter, than perhaps it is better," Thor said firmly, fighting the urge to speak words of comfort. "As much as I love you, Loki, if you are not willing to try, than you don't deserve whatever you've found with her. You claim you never wanted a throne, and yet you brought an army upon this world to try to get it. You claim you found what you wanted with her, and you're simply going to give it up as soon as you meet resistance?"

Thor had spent years trying to speak his brand of sense into Loki. While he had only recently conquered his own failings of pride and thoughtless, he had always been better at matters of the heart than his brother. Thousands of words from the God of Thunder had fallen onto the deaf ears of the God of Mischief, who always insisted on doing things his own way, for good or ill. In that moment, however, Thor could see the well of emotion in his brother's eyes, and he hoped maybe he might actually be making a bit of progress. His unfortunate younger sibling would either be completely overwhelmed by his emotions or refuse to let himself feel anything. Either way it was bound conflict with Darcy, who was more level-headed when it came to what she felt, even if she lacked the same sense in other areas of her life.

"Did I not just say that you are supposed to tell me that I am blameless?" Loki said petulantly. Thor gave a sad smile.

"I will try to oblige you, as always, but only if you promise to let Jane give you a sound talking to...again."

"I'll take my chances with you," Loki said with a scoff. "That woman wields an argument like you do your little hammer. I actually think I prefer Mjolnir to listening to that. You have my sympathies, brother."

* * *

Loki appeared in Stark's lab the next afternoon, much to the surprise of everyone there. His brother stood to the side in his armor, waiting for this experiment to begin. Banner sat upon a table, clearly meant to support a larger occupant, with several wires connected to various parts of his body. Darcy and Stark -who was fully dressed in the suit except for the helmet- both stood near Banner, Darcy at a nearby monitor and Stark helping Banner with his connections. He could vaguely hear Darcy and Tony trading insults with each other.

"Don't make me taser you, boss," he heard her say.

"Promises, promises," he heard Stark reply.

Thor was the first to notice him and a satisfied smile appeared on his beaming face at seeing Loki joining to aid them. Darcy must have noticed the change in his brother's demeanor because she slowly turned around to face him. Loki's breath caught in his throat when he saw her. Dark circles hung just below her eyes. She hadn't even applied the small amount of cosmetics she rarely left home without. Her hair hung in a plain, tight ponytail that snaked its way down her back. She adjusted her glasses as she briefly met his eyes before returning to her work, much less enthusiastic about his willingness to do good than she had been the previous night, apparently.

He had resisted going to her the night before when he returned home. Strangely, he had felt some semblance of empowerment after talking with his brother. Thor was taking his chances with a mortal: could he not as well? An echo from the girl occupying his thought resounded through his memory._I'm sure the fact that I was a friend of your brother has nothing to do with your sudden curiosity to go slumming here on Earth. Have you made it a competition of sorts, in your head? He kissed a mortal, so you have to one-up him and nail one?_ The girl knew him better than he cared to admit, even then. When he had arrived home, he felt like whatever consequences came with confessing genuine feelings for her would be worth keeping what it was he had with her. Even if Odin would not grant her the chance to become Aesir, he would take whatever warmth she could offer him and maybe even one day offer himself in return. It was a pleasant notion. For that was what she gave him, was it not? Warmth. Kindness. Acceptance. Esteem. All of those things he despised himself for wanting but relished in when he was with her.

His hand had been on her doorknob before he stopped himself. Darcy was not one who would be backed into a corner any longer. She had gone to great lengths to make it abundantly clear that her will was hers alone. If she thought him disingenuous, she would flee from him again. If he wished to win her back, there were many methods to do so. He could immediately confess love for her. A scowl spread across his features at the idea. How perfectly dull. He could slowly try to convince her over a long period of selfless and gentlemanly behavior that he had developed more tender feelings than those of the flesh (pleasant though _those_ were). He thought a moment.

Or, since she had confessed that she did love him, he could drive her mad with her own desire for him until she swore on her short life that she would never dare to turn from him again, no matter what the reason. Now _that_ held promise. And _only_ when she was on the brink of insanity, positive she wanted to dedicate the rest of her mortality to him, he would perhaps give her the satisfaction of admitting that at least a small part of him belonged to her too.

Of course now, seeing the evidence of a sleepless night etched in her features smothered his more wicked intentions. It had apparently been an equally cold and lonely night for the both of them. Perhaps he would take mercy on the girl sooner than he originally planned. She wouldn't have to be _insane_. He would settle for apologetic. Was this to be the way of things? As soon as he formed a positively delightful scheme, she would enter that picture and make him want to behave?

He glowered a bit internally. He supposed he could live with that. She couldn't be around him _all_ the time.

If his recent conversation with both Jane and his brother had not confirmed it, the ache inside him at seeing her so clearly miserable did: he loved that ridiculous girl. The thought that he was the cause of her looking so physically ill made him a little queasy.

"Okay," she said, her weary voice breaking in the silence, "are we ready to party?"

"As we'll ever be," Banner said, laying down on the slab.

"All right." she said. "Thor? Loki? I'll need you in the observation room. We'll see if Tony can keep Banner calm by himself. If there's trouble, you can go in." Darcy looked down at Banner, giving him a small, but encouraging, smile and quick squeeze to his hand. "It's going to be fine," she said quietly. Banner smiled weakly at her, appreciative of the gesture, but no more comforted.

"We'll see," he said.

"We won't if we keep standing around her blowing sunshine out our asses. Darcy?" Tony said, his helmet coming up over his head and locking into place. "Go to your room." His barbs were even funnier in the robotic sound of the Iron Man suit. Darcy smirked at Banner one last time as she disappeared into the room behind a two way mirror which prevented the Other Guy from seeing them. All of Darcy's equipment had been moved to the small area, appearing to the two men in the room as a collection of monitors and keyboards. They watched her fiddle with various buttons on the system.

Thor suddenly found that he was stuck between Darcy and his brother. He stood awkwardly as Darcy seemed absorbed in her work and Loki kept a vigilant eye on the events outside the room. While accepting the fact that he was usually the muscle part of a team, Thor had to slightly roll his eyes at his own restlessness, as he had little else to think about, unlike the two on either side of him. How were the two of them able to pretend as if nothing were amiss between them? Especially Darcy. Perhaps she had been around his brother too long. The idea of projecting such calm was impossible to Thor, who was less versed in hiding anything. On the rare occasions Jane was upset with him, he could not rest until it was resolved. (It usually stemmed from him saying something that did not sit well with her modern female sensibilities; but he was trying to adapt to her Midgardian notions.)

"Are we ready?" they heard Stark say over the intercom system in the small room.

"Ready," Darcy said. "Is Banner ready?"

"Banner's always ready," Tony answered, the placid face of the Iron Man suit looking down at his fellow scientist. "Right buddy? Remember you have to hold it together until the second round, okay? Otherwise, six months of work is out the door."

"Got it. Especially since I'm the one who actually developed it." Banner muttered.

"No sass," Stark said. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Ready JARVIS?" Darcy said.

"As I will ever be, your radiance," the computer replied in the room. Darcy took a deep breath, typing on her keyboard.

"Starting round one," she said. One final click and the sound of moving parts drew their attention to Banner on the slab. Fluids started moving through the various tubes tangled loosely around him, all moving to the arteries leading straight to his head. Everyone could immediately see his body tense, going ramrod stiff as serum slowly injected into him. Darcy watched the screen carefully, monitoring the dosage level. She really didn't know what much of it meant: they just told her what numbers to watch, which was what she was good at. Banner started twitching and jerking around, making it quite clear that he was in pain. Three awful minutes went by, the tension so thick in the air, Darcy thought she would suffocate. They needed five.

"Tony, how's he doing? Should we back off?" Darcy asked.

"No," Tony said. "Any slower and it will be too spread out."

"It won't be good if he Hulks out either," she said. "Do you have anything to help with the pain?"

"We can't risk anything that could put him to sleep," Tony said, standing vigilant over his friend, whose teeth were gritted in restraint. Tony could see Bruce's veins turn a deep green through his skin and then fade back as he fought to maintain control. Loki watched as Darcy almost turned to actually look at him, but quickly turned back to her screen. Loki rolled his eyes, teleporting out to Stark's side. The Iron Man immediately raised the palms of his hands defensively, waiting for Loki to make a move, as the sound of his beams could be heard charging.

"Stark!" Darcy shouted over the intercom. "Let him work." The stoic face of the suit, whose arms were still raised and ready to strike, watched as Loki, whose eyes stared almost in amusement at Stark, slowly approached Bruce's head. Breath was held by all parties in the room as Loki brought the palms of his hands to Banner's temples. Only Darcy and Thor knew what was happening: Stark simply had to watch in wonder as his friend's body slowly relaxed, coming to a quiet still. The veins under his skin finally faded back to invisibility under his skin.

"Thank you," Banner whispered, letting the tension in his body release as the warmth radiated around his head, which no longer felt like it was being split in two. Loki gave a strange look down at Banner, a thoughtful expression on his face. Here this man lay completely vulnerable under his hands while a monster lay just beneath the surface. Stark, Darcy, and even his brother were ready to stand by Banner, risking incredible danger in the face of what the monster could do, in order to help him keep control. Help him use his incredible power for something more than simple destruction. Loki suddenly grew uncomfortable, the parallel of his own situation feeling a little too familiar. He found himself wanting to leave the man to his fate, and teleport himself and Darcy away. Instead, he planted his feet firmly, continuing to let his magic ease the pain, and responded.

"You are welcome," Loki said gracefully.

"Ten more seconds," he heard Darcy say over the intercom. He had to admit, it was impressive seeing her 'all business,' as she would put it. In spite of the emotional turmoil between the two of them which was clearly having an effect on her, she was able to push through and focus on her job. He rarely saw her here in her element, mind focused on something other than him, excitement clearly alight in her exhausted eyes. She was passionate in all she did, whether it was working on her machines, helping her friends, or loving him. A sudden thrill coursed through him.

"Five seconds."

There really was so much more to her than he had credited her. She was not just a footnote in his recovery or a distraction for him to indulge during his exile. She was her own person with thoughts and feelings and aspirations all on her own, regardless of how long those things would last.

"Three."

She had tried to share those other things with him: whether it trying to get him to help in the their lab or trying to get him to befriend her little heroes. He had continuously turned her away, condescending effort in every possible way as a pathetic attempt on her part to try to get him to do good and speed up his return home.

"Two."

It had never been just about him. She had tried to include him in the things that she cared about, hoping he might find some meaning in them also.

"One."

Thor was right. He didn't deserve her.

"Round two. Loki, you might want to get back here. He might still view you as a hostile. Banner, time to let go." He could hear the familiar treble of anxiety in her voice, as she knew what was about to happen. Loki released his magic on Banner as he teleported back to the camouflaged room with Darcy and his brother. Thor was closer to the door now, anxious for this one moment come.

Darcy took a breath, starting her next program. The three of them watched in awe as the soft spoken doctor screamed with anger, his voice growing into a sound deeper and deeper, more like metal scraping than a human voice. His body swelled with green sinews and rage as Tony struggled to keep him on the slab. They could hear his random grunts and curses over the intercom as he fought with the Hulk.

"Thor!" she said. "It looks like he will need back up." The blonde nodded, calling Mjolnir to himself before walking out the door. "Try not to be aggressive!" she called. He turned to look back at her. "It will just make it worse! We need to all try to remain-" She screamed as table crashed up against the observation window, Tony's cursing getting louder and more vulgar in her ears. "Calm," she finished, wide-eyed and nervous. Loki planted his feet apart, ready to teleport Darcy away if the Hulk got too close. She had to shift in order to see past the huge spider crack in the window. She watched as Thor slowly approached, his hammer down but ready. He tried calling to Banner as he stormed around the lab, destroying everything in his path. For what seemed like far too long, Darcy could only watch in awe as she saw fully the raw power of the doctor she had gotten to know over the past few weeks on display before her.

"Stark!" Darcy shouted over the intercom, typing furiously on her keyboard. "He's dislodged his connections! I paused the program, but you need to get them back in!"

"I am try-" his words were caught off as he was thrown clear across the lab, while Thor tried to maintain a headlock around the Hulk. It would have been amusing to see the Asgardian being whipped around like a rag doll under different circumstances as the Hulk tried to throw him off his back. He at least seemed to be slowing down, but still threw Thor head first right into the observation window. Darcy was frozen in place before she felt Loki pull her down to the ground, out of the way as Thor crashed through the glass into the small room.

"We must go," he said, taking her hand.

"No!" she said, pulling away. "We're so close!"

"You have nowhere to hide, Darcy," he said, genuine fear lurking in his eyes.

"No!" she repeated. "Just a little longer." She quickly poked her head up, seeing a slightly less enraged and more confused Hulk eyeballing Stark. Darcy checked her equipment, thankful Thor had missed most of it. She moved gingerly around the little shards of glass.

"Iron Man," she heard the Hulk say as softly as a _Hulk_ could manage.

"That's right," Tony wheezed, bent over favoring his midsection. "It's me. We need to fix your head there, buddy." Darcy dared to stand up to be ready for when Stark fixed the connections. It took no time for Darcy to stand completely before the terrifying green eyes of the Hulk landed on her. She quickly dove back down under the table of equipment just as Thor rolled over and started getting up.

"Crap! He saw me. It's okay. I think Tony's getting to him." Heavy footsteps started making their way to the now destroyed room, Darcy's eyes growing wider with every step. She felt Loki reach for her hand, but she quickly jerked it away. "If you teleport me from here without my say, I will never forgive you," she hissed. Loki gritted his teeth, seeing the fear so clearly written on her face but still she would stay, determined as ever to finish her work. "Thor, stay down," she whispered. The blonde straightened, but did as she asked.

"Tiny lady," she heard the Hulk say. Ugh. Tony got _Iron Man_ and she got _Tiny Lady_? Lame.

"That's right," Stark said between grunts of pain. "Tiny Lady and Iron Man trying to help Hulk." Darcy heard the Hulk growl softly as his heavy breaths slowed. "Come on!' Stark said. "Not much time for Hulk." After a few tense moments. She heard the footsteps recede. She quickly -but not too quickly- popped up and grabbed one of the laptops connected to the program to restart it, but Stark was going to need help reconnecting the Hulk. They were running out of time.

She hesitated a bit when the Hulk saw her, but he made no move to attack her, seeming rather to watch in curiosity. Whether or not Banner recognized them was always a crapshoot when he Hulked. She quickly thanked whatever gods were listening that this seemed to be one of those times. Stark wasted no time in reconnecting Banner and neither did Darcy. It was strange trying to replace all of the wires on his hot, green skin as the Hulk lay down at Stark's gentle instructions. Darcy had never been this close to him like this before: it was both terrifying and exhilarating. As soon as he was reconnected, Darcy turned to her laptop to start the program again. Tony stood back, silently, as the Hulk started to growl softly in pain and started to squirm. Of course squirming for him was like flailing for a normal person.

"It's okay!" Darcy tried to soothe, nervous of what the impact would be to say anything. The Hulk's intense green eyes bored into her, causing her to pause slightly before she gingerly reached out to take his incredibly large hand with her small one while she kept her eye on the program. She felt his huge fingers firmly but gently wrap around hers as Stark stood vigilantly at his other side.

"Tiny lady nice," Hulk said. "Iron Man friend." Darcy smiled, hoping that after today it wouldn't take him absolutely destroying their lab to figure that out. It was still clear that the injection was causing the Hulk pain. She could only imagine what it had done to Banner.

"Loki?" Darcy called out softly, suddenly regretful she had spoken so harshly to him. The man in question teleported before her, just behind the Hulk. They met eyes for the first real time that day, an unspoken request dwelling within Darcy's. Loki looked at the creature on the slab, trying very much to not rage from the serum injection. He carefully stepped up, placing his hands on the sides of the creature's massive head and let his magic abate the pain. His eyes once again rose back up to Darcy, who gave him a grateful smile before returning to soothe the beast. Loki watched his ex-lover's hand carefully wrapped in the Hulk's dangerous grip, her other small hand resting on the green hand holding hers.

"Not much longer," she said. Loki watched in amazement as Darcy -his Darcy, the once cowering, shy, trembling computer programmer- stood bravely at her friend's side, holding a hand that could crush her skull as she focused on the task of doing what she could to try to help him, offering soft words of encouragement the whole time. How often had he turned that very gift away? Only with him she had offered her heart as well, and he had stepped on it with his bootheel time and again, not finding her able to be his equal, as her life would be a blink of an eye to him if she would never become an Aesir.

It was in that moment he realized it was _because_ her life was so fleeting and that she was willing to risk the short time she had in the service of a friend, that made her actions so important. Not only hers, but Stark's, Romanov's, Barton's, Fury's, and even Rogers' -though _his_ life might be shorter than most. They all had so little time to experience the world, and here they were sacrificing even that to make their world a better place. He, on the other hand, had all the time in the universe, and had used the past bit of it to bring that world for which they fought into subjugation for his own ego.

"Okay," she said, using her free hand to type a few buttons. "It's done. We just have to wait now."

He was right. He was not Darcy's equal. He suddenly felt very small in comparison.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN:  
**Thank you so much you guys for reading and reviewing and Tumbling my story. You have know idea how much it makes my day to get reviews/notes/whatevs.

Awesome beta is awesome.

And now it starts getting...interesting... hopefully.

* * *

**CHAPTER 25**

Loki had never ridden with Darcy on her motorcycle before. His ability to teleport made conventional modes of travel highly unnecessary. Seated behind her on the vehicle, his hands firmly grasping her hips, the air rushing past his face as the sound of the engine and wind drowned out all other noise, he could understand why she liked it so much. It was a cool California evening, the month of September finally bringing a refreshing crispness to the twilight hours. The relatively quiet highway taking them back to their home allowed the view of a rather impressive purple and orange sunset over clear blue ocean. Truly, he had never really stopped to look at Midgard before. While he doubted any realm could ever rival Asgard in his heart, this planet certainly held more charm than perhaps he let himself enjoy.

She was leaning forward, focusing intensely on her task of driving, her dark ponytail spilling out of her helmet and over her leather jacket. This less efficient mode of travel also allowed him to relish the closeness of her, as he was unsure if he would be allowed it again. Even his request to accompany her on her ride home had been met with reluctance, mistrust of his intentions plainly written on her tired features.

In the wake of their -thus far- successful experiment, and with Stark's permission, Darcy decided to take a few well deserved days to herself while the lab was restored and they waited for Banner's condition to stabilize. Loki's chest buzzed with excitement at the thought of having her home, eager to take the time to share his new revelation with her. Of course, he knew a too sudden confession would not be wise, possibly seeming as if he was only saying what he needed to get what he wanted. Even he had to admit that was not beyond him in most cases. On the other hand he also felt that he might burst if he let her go one more moment not knowing how he felt about her. They had both waited long enough. He had spent the past few months enjoying her in every possible way, and yet now he felt as exhilarated as if he was only just trying to court her for the first time. This new discovery had cast a fresh light on everything, and he found himself desperate make things right so that they could move forward in what this meant for the two of them. But how to prove that he was genuine?

The need for power had driven him for longer than he cared to remember. It had brought him nothing but emptiness and despair as endless as the abyss into which he had fallen. The day of his defeat had dissolved even that fabricated purpose to which he had clung -if only to pull himself from one to day the next- into a web of lies, broken promises, and his own humiliation. The healing process had been painful, but steady, bringing him to this point; and he now, for the first time since that day, looked to the future with eagerness and anticipation. His relationship with his brother healed with every passing day: Loki felt closer to Thor than even before his coronation, and their friendship had become less of a pill for him to swallow. His brother loved him without reservation, regardless of past wrongs from either side. Thor had truly grown, and was much more capable of ruling Asgard than the boy he had been for so many painful years.

It was not only with Darcy and his brother that he had found peace, but he also found a certain contentment in knowing he had helped the mortals in his own way that day. So often his magic had been feared and sometimes even hated back home, although his deceitful nature might have had something to do with that, but Banner had spoken genuine gratitude to him as he lay there in agony, trying to fight off his own frightening nature. Loki had been more successful gaining the praise of mortals when he wasn't even trying than when he had summoned an army to accomplish the task.

And then there was Darcy.

Darcy.

They were getting close to their house, and he was running out of time to decide what to say to her. So often their arguments would fizzle out into an anticlimactic avoidance of a topic. He could not let that happen: not this time. As they pulled into the the small carport, she made a specific point of removing his hands from her hips before unstrapping her helmet and tucking it under one arm. She made no acknowledgement of his presence other than avoiding actually walking through him as she headed to their front door. He followed her quietly until she sat down on their living room couch, tossing her jacket beside her as she began unlacing her boots.

"You are still not feeling any better," he said plainly, almost the first words he had said directly to her since their argument. "Are you sure you should not see another doctor?" She looked at him as if she did not know what he was saying at first. She shook her head slightly and an almost indiscernible smile rolled over her features, disappearing quickly.

"I just have a lot on my mind," she said. Removing her second shoe, she sank back onto the couch with a sigh of relief escaping her. Loki said nothing in reply on the subject. Perhaps she really was just more susceptible to stress than he had thought. The seemingly impermeable silence stretched on between them. It reminded him of when he and his brother first lived with her and he could not say two words without making her uncomfortable.

"Are we going to avoid what happened last night indefinitely?" he finally asked. Her relaxed brows came together, another sigh escaping her.

"Apparently not," she said, eyes remaining closed. "I was hopeful though."

"I understand if now is not the best of times," he offered, carefully choosing his words, "but I do not believe either of us were finished. I would like to continue when you are ready. We can wait, though." The furrow of her brow deepened for a moment as she slowly opened one eye and then closed it again, softening her brow once more.

"Actually giving me a choice in the matter?" she asked curiously. "That's new. But I guess we can have it out now." So many of her little comments that once passed through his mind as merely an indication of her sarcastic nature now revealed her true perception of him. He cringed. "What's up?" she asked. He slowly approached to sit next to her on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees. She made no move to acknowledge him as he clasped his hands together in thought.

"It was never my intention to make you feel like an insect," he said, recalling her words oh so very clearly, "or anything else unpleasant. You seem so unmoved most of the time when I say things, and I forget how deeply they affect you. I did not want to feel about you the way that I do, knowing the obstacles that would stand between us in the event we ever became more than casual lovers. It was myself I was trying to protect, but it should never have been worth insulting you." While he spoke, Darcy had slowly turned her head -still resting it on the couch- to him, eyes opening to meet his. "Even endeavoring to do what is right and best for you, I have treated you poorly. I have no excuse for myself other than to say it was not done intentionally. I am...sorry." A long pregnant pause passed as Darcy contemplated his apology, her eyes meeting his occasionally as she looked around the room for something on which she could focus.

"I forgive you," she said. _Of course she would_, Loki could not help thinking sadly. "But I am not going to listen to it anymore, even if we are no longer together."

"And you shall never hear a cross word from my lips agai-" he paused. "Well, that would be a _lie_. But I will never make you feel like you are beneath me again, as my lover or as my friend. This I promise." She nodded, a weak smile on her face.

"Okay," she said. "Anything else bothering you?"

Loki had replayed that moment of dangling off the rainbow bridge many times in his mind. Grasping desperately to his father's staff, he had clung for a fleeting moment to the hope of finally winning his father's respect, letting go when he thought he realized he would never have what he wanted more than anything. The pain in his heart in that one moment had threatened to crush the life out of him, with death being the only escape from it.

This moment of Darcy staring at him expectantly seemed just as it had as he hung from that bridge, only this time it was Darcy to whom he desperately clung. If he did not tell her now, he would lack the courage to do so later, after he had convinced himself of how impossible any kind of meaningful union would be between them. But he was willing to take that chance now, because she deserved no less from him. If she denied him, he would not dishonor her or his brother's effort to help him find peace by losing himself to darkness again. He would accept the responsibility of his actions, even if that meant losing her as a lover. (Just as long as it wasn't to _Rogers_. The boy was... too selfless and noble and..._good_. Loki would have nothing for which he could be mocked. If she chose not to stay with him, he certainly wouldn't want her _happy_ about it...)

She watched with one of her more bewildered expressions as he turned to kneel before her on the couch slightly between her knees, gripping the sides of her thighs with his long fingers. It was a position more intimate than his current standing probably allowed, and she lurched forward to remove his hands, annoyance etched in her countenance.

"Loki!" she squealed. Her breath caught in her throat and she stilled shortly after when she realized what he was doing. She felt it on her thighs first where his hands were touching her, unsure of exactly what it was. With a mixture of awe and surprise, she watched as the deep wells of green observing her shifted into red, his handsome face gaining a deep cerulean pigment complemented by symmetrical patterns rising up in his skin. She didn't notice as her bottom teeth began to chatter in response to the coolness radiating from his entire body as his transformation completed. He was still completely recognizable. He was just as she had seen him in the Tesseract that one day so long ago. Still Loki.

"Tell me you love me," he said softly, trying his best to make it sound like a request instead of a command.

"Wh-what?" she said, confused, trying desperately to replay his words in her mind.

"Tell me you love me," he repeated, slightly less like a question this time, "and I will give you whatever is left of this heart and body for as long as your life will allow." Her lips parted slightly, chest suddenly heaving with the deep breaths that were necessary to keep from getting dizzy. She shivered as he brought a blue hand up to her face, rubbing his thumb over her cheek. It felt like a slightly warmer ice pack. "Tell me you love me now," he repeated, a quiet desperation in his voice.

"I love you now," she said quickly just before he pulled her forward, planting incredibly cold lips on hers. It was strange at first, but the gravity of what was happening was not lost on her, exhausted though she was. Loki could be manipulative and was capable of lying straight through his perfect teeth to get what he wanted: but not this. He knew what would soften her heart towards him and would use it, but he would not make himself this vulnerable just to prove a point. She had felt what he felt when she saw him like this in the Tesseract that one day. This was his one true weakness - the source of all of his self loathing. No matter how angry she was with him, she couldn't bring herself to turn him away in the face of such a risk on his part. Typical God of Mischief. Even his most sincere of intentions would forever be played out to his advantage. He had no reason to operate any other way. How did he know exactly what it would take to draw her back to him when even she did not?

Because he was Loki, that's how. Chessmaster Extraordinaire.

She instinctually wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he easily lifted her to her feet, pulling her tightly to him. Despite his Jotun form, Loki had never felt warmer in his life. Darcy could feel her entire body quiver both from his intensity and from the cold touch of his skin. Her lips felt like they were burning. He heard her trying to speak as she attempted to push him away.

"I-I don't know what this means," she managed to say against his lips.

"Yes you do," he said in between kisses. "You're very smart."

"Say it then," she commanded, keeping his mouth away from hers. He opted to kiss the side of her neck instead. "I'm not playing games with you anymore." She could feel him grin against her neck, brushing his mouth over her ear as her eyes drifted closed.

"I love you," he whispered. "Do you trust that?"

"Not in the very least," she said, a smile forming on her lips. He hoisted her up high enough for her to wrap her legs around his waist as he headed to his bedroom.

"Clever girl," he said, a grin spreading across his features.

"You only get to play that card one time," she said breathlessly, resting her hands on his shoulders, raising a fine brow at him. "The next time I break up with you, it'll be for longer than twenty-four hours." He continued to smile up at her.

"Then I'll try not to tempt fate, and give you a reason," he said, laying her down on his bed. He always enjoyed seeing the contrast of her fair skin against his dark green bedcovers, especially now when he had spent a short time wondering if he would ever see it again. While the evidence of her exhaustion was still evident underneath, her eyes were bright and playful as they had not been for several days. Everything about her seemed new and exciting, different somehow in the most wonderful of ways. He slowly crawled up the bed as she kept her eyes locked on his face, trying to adjust to seeing him like this. He stilled when he saw what she was doing, allowing his eyes to drift closed as her small hands reached up and ran across the ridges on his face. Her teeth chattered painfully, and he slowly allowed his Asgardian face to take back over, raising the temperature of his skin.

"No!" she said sharply. "Go back to how you were."

"I don't think you getting hypothermia is how I would like this to end," he said sheepishly. "Although I do appreciate your adventurous spirit, as always."

"Then warm me up," she said, reaching for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. "I know you know how." He smiled, hesitating briefly as his face shifted blue again, scooting down to remove her shirt as well. It wasn't long before she felt magic leave his fingertips, leaving a warm feeling on her skin in its wake, contrasting starkly with the cool from the rest of him. Between the warmth on her skin that he was spreading _everywhere_ and the icy touch of his hands that no longer seemed as abrasive, she was sure she had never been so aroused in such a short span of time. She doubted he warmed up _those_ places on Banner, although she made a note to herself to _never_ ask. She continued tracing the patterns on his chest and back, wanting to memorize every one. "Say it again," she said, not bothering to be specific.

"You said you did not trust me," he replied playfully.

"Say it until I do," she replied, threading her fingers through his hair as he pressed kisses to her chest reaching behind her, feeling for the hooks of her bra.

"I love you, Darcy," he said, flinging the garment away and returning to his work. She gasped at the feel of his cold mouth in all sorts of new places. "Well, my, my my," he grinned back up at her. "There are certain _perks_ to this form which I hadn't considered." Darcy narrowed her eyes at the ceiling.

"If I could think of insults right now, you would be getting a _really_ bad one."

* * *

"Do you believe me yet?' Darcy vaguely heard whispered in her ear. She was fast on her way to sleeping, wrapped in Loki's regularly-temperatured embrace, and had to repeat the words in her head in order to comprehend them. She could feel him tracing invisible patterns along her exposed hip, getting dangerously close to a ticklish zone.

"I think if we do that a few more times, I will be more inclined to be convinced of your sincerity," she said sleepily, throwing one of her legs over his as she snuggled closer. She wiggled away as he got closer and closer to that one spot with his wandering hand. "_That_ will cause you to lose points. Want sleep." In spite of the giddy and playful mood buzzing under his calm facade, Loki stilled his hand, willing her to finally get some rest. He was wide awake, however, his mind astir trying to process this new development, as he allowed his hand to travel up and down her bare arm instead, away from the offending spot.

"Good night, Darcy," he said quietly. He was quite certain he had never said that before. He felt her lean up and press her lips to his jaw.

"Good night, my..." She didn't get to finish as sleep overcame her.

Of all the ways he had seen the day playing out, this had only been in his wildest of fantasies. Well, perhaps not _wildest_. He had been intending to seduce Darcy into insanity, after all; although he certainly had not expected her to desire him in his Jotun form. That had been...indescribable. He had meant to give her one last chance to leave, to run away, as she should. Let her see the monster he held inside him and decide if she loved him still, for after that there would be no turning back for him. Apparently, she found his other form to be more than agreeable, especially when coupled with his magic. He was quite certain the memory of his two most despised traits coming together to elicit the rather loud moans of pleasure from his young lover was bound to give him the existential crisis he had been dutifully avoiding.

He had just been about to drift into slumber an hour after Darcy, her arm and leg thrown dramatically over him, when he suddenly heard her whispering. One of his eye opened, looking down at her before opening the second. While she was as chatty as she pleased in waking hours, Darcy was a heavy sleeper, and not really prone to talking in her sleep. He tried listening to discern what she was saying. At first it sounded like nonsense, and he wondered is she was simply making noise for some reason, but then it almost sounded like chanting. Loki frowned intensely as he realized that she wasn't speaking nonsense, but a recitation of spells in a dialect from Alfheim that he recognized vaguely.

What in the world?

She suddenly stopped. Inhaling sharply, she slowly opened her eyes and then jerked her head up quickly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Did I wake you up?"

"No," he said. "Were you dreaming again?" She nodded sleepily as she lay her head back down. "What about?" He felt her shrug.

"I never remember," she said.

"Darcy," he said seriously, "have you...gotten yourself into trouble somehow?"

"I think we both know the answer to that question," she joked lightly.

"You know what I mean," he said patiently. "Have you...done something?" Several long moments passed before she raised her eyes to his, suddenly very awake.

"What makes you ask that?" she asked.

"You haven't been sleeping well all week," he said. "And you were just reciting Alfheim incantations."

"I was what? Ugh. Nevermind," she replied, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"What is going on?" he questioned firmly, arising with her. She sighed heavily.

"A lot of things," she said. "I haven't done anything like what you're thinking, but, I don't know. I can't explain it."

"Try," he said. She shook her head, bringing the blanket up more tightly around her as she rubbed her temples. "Darcy, you can't even pronounce 'Mjolinir.' What are you doing speaking a language from a realm to which you have never been?" She let out a short and dry laugh at the truth of his words. "I know I have done little to earn your trust, but there is nothing I wouldn't do to help you if you are in trouble." When most people said that, they usually had some sort of unstated moral boundary that was assumed. Darcy had little doubt there was most likely little Loki would not do that she would ask, and even a few things she wouldn't.

"I do trust you," she said, shifting to sit on his lap, letting either of her legs fall to his side as she placed her hands on his shoulders. He was thankful the blanket was wrapped around her otherwise bare form so that they could actually finish this conversation. "I do. I just...need you to trust me right now, too." She met his eyes, moved by the genuine concern she saw reflected back. "I am in a whole heap of trouble, I won't lie, but it's nothing I went looking for, believe you me. I hope, in a little while, we can all look back at this and laugh about that 'one time Darcy did that one thing,' but I have to do this alone for the moment." Loki prided himself on the ability to figure out most things around him without much explanation, but he absolutely could not imagine what she could have gotten herself into.

"I don't like this," he said plainly.

"I don't either. Hopefully it won't be for very much longer." Loki sighed, trying to remember what he had just learned that very day. Darcy's existence did not start and stop with their relationship. Her need to keep secrets was not necessarily a lack of trust. As intense as his own curiosity was, he wasn't willing to lose the ground he had only just gained with her. He sighed. Fortunately he had the luxury of not really caring too much about the greater good above his own desires, one of those desires being to not start fighting with Darcy at the moment. _He_ was hardly one to chastise her for causing mischief, but if Thor found out she was up to no good, she was on her own.

"Promise to come to me," he said, "when you feel that you can." She nodded, leaning forward to plant a soft kiss on his mouth. "If you get yourself killed, I'm going to be severely upset with you." She smiled and she kissed him again. "Remind me again why I'm allowing this?"

"Because you love me," she said, planting another kiss at the corner of his mouth.

"And?"

"You're all right, I guess," she shrugged.

* * *

"Please tell me you wore a garter," Tony said. "Please, for the love of all that is good, tell me you wore a garter."

"I doubt wedding ceremonies are the same on Jotunheim," Jane said, trying terribly hard not to giggle. "Did Thor at least give you a pretty bridesmaid's dress, Loki, or did he want to be the prettiest belle of the ball?"

"A dress could not have salvaged the shipwreck that was my brother dressed as a woman, I assure you, madam," Loki replied. "I, with no regret, inform you that I would best my brother in any exercise, one way or another, and that would include trying to pass as a woman."

"An easy enough task if we _all_ had the ability to shapeshift," Thor grumbled. "That garment was terribly uncomfortable."

"Wait a minute," Banner said. "You can shapeshift into a woman?"

"I can appear in the shape of any creature I wish," Loki replied arrogantly, "male or female." Darcy threw a pensive look at Tony, bracing herself for whatever comment he would make with that knowledge. Pepper was at the table, so he may have been willing to hold back the nasty. He simply grinned at her, saying nothing. Nope, he was going to just hold onto that one. Dammit.

"Including, horses, apparently," Jane said casually, not succeeding in hiding her smirk. Thor avoided his brother's eyes, returning his full attention to his steak. It was wise, considering the God of Mischief narrowed his eyes at Jane, going back and forth between her and Thor.

"For the last time, that did _not_ happen!" Loki said defensively.

"What didn't happen?" Pepper asked.

"One of the myths of the ancient humans about my brother that got a little out of hand," Thor said, a huge bite of food shoved into one cheek. "He's a little sensitive about it."

"_Charm _a horse," Loki articulated. "I appeared as a horse to _charm_ a mare into giving me her eight-legged foal. I might have taken care to raise Sleipnir, but I damn well didn't birth the creature. I thought we were talking about Thor wearing a dress."

"And the custom made garter it would have taken to fit those tree trunks," Tony said over his barely contained amusement. Loki leaned back in the booth, wrapping a rather purposeful arm around Darcy's waist. A tingle of a thrill travelled up Darcy's spine and she fought to hide her pleasure at the small display of affection in front of everyone. She had been worried the night before had been some sort of illusion, and she would wake to find none of it had happened. Loki had assured her of the new esteem in which he held her, both publicly and privately, in either word or subtle caress, the entire day that day. She supposed after months of never knowing his intentions, the clarity of the situation did them both well.

"Did the beard not tip Thrym off that you were not the most beautiful goddess in Asgard?" Darcy questioned, relaxing into Loki's arm.

"I suppose it would have, if not for my brother here convincing the entire guest list that I was," Thor said proudly, bringing a hand down on Loki's shoulder. Loki smirked at his brother's praise. "A full goblet and a few of his words was all it took. As you all know, Meow Meow was returned to me." Darcy crossed her hands over her chest, beaming proudly. "Mjolnir!" he quickly corrected.

"I love myself sometimes," Darcy said, pleased with her ability to get even Thor to call his own hammer by the wrong name.

The entire group continued the night in jovial conversation, a small celebration after the weeks of work for Stark, Banner, and Darcy. A second test run on Banner had revealed his immediate recognition of Tony and Thor, as well as his ability to return to his regular self within the hour. Several trials would still have to be successful, but Stark had insisted everyone go out together in celebration of Banner's success. Darcy could not have been happier. In spite of his reservations that he had actually found a solution, Banner was more relaxed than she had ever seen him. For the first time since that day Loki came barrelling into her facility at SHIELD, everything actually seemed somewhat perfect. She was in love with Loki, and he had admitted as much to her in return. Better yet, she actually found it easy to believe him. She had an exciting job at Stark Industries. Banner had the chance of not having to torture himself as much. Thor and Jane were together. Pepper and Tony were together. As she looked around the table at all of the people with her, she had to smile widely.

* * *

Darcy and Jane parted from the men in their lives as they left the restaurant. Darcy was out of ice cream and Jane needed a razor, and even the most mundane trip to the store was a great excuse for the two of them to get out into a testosterone free environment (assuming Asgardians produced testosterone.)

Darcy had been quite surprised when Loki had planted a relatively innocent but obvious kiss on her lips in parting, even in front of Jane and Thor.

"Okay," Jane started as they got in her car, "I know you guys were together, but now you are... _together_?"

"Yep. Looks like," Darcy replied, a pleased smile on her face.

"What happened to 'keeping him at arm's length' and 'getting attached to him would be like emotional suicide?'" Jane asked.

"I know," Darcy said, not surprised to hear her own words repeated back to her. "I know. But... I love him, Jane." The physicist could not have given her a more shocked look if she she was wrecking the car she was driving. Of course, with Jane, the night was still young. "And he told me he loved me. I know he's not considered the most truthful of people, but I don't think this is something he would lie about. It's not like I have anything he'd be using me for anymore. I...I love him."

"He _told_ you?" Darcy nodded. "And you told him? How did that even happen?"

"I blurted it out of course," the brunette responded as they got out of the car. The dim and empty parking lot echoed the sounds of their car doors shutting as they headed in the direction of the brightly lit store a little distance away.

She was about to explain the details as the girlfriend code required when she felt a hand come over her mouth and heard Jane scream.

"Make a sound," an inhumanly deep voice said into Darcy's ear, "make a noise louder than a whisper, and the last thing you'll hear is the sound of her neck snapping in the dark." A strange burning sensation of fear started at the back of Darcy's neck and trickled its way down her spine. Every ligament in her body was frozen in as she watched Jane being equally subdued. She couldn't see the person apprehending her, only that his form was unnaturally large, completely cloaked in black. As her attacker dragged her deeper into the darkness of an alleyway, Darcy could only feel how completely rigid the hand around her mouth was. It felt like her kidnapper had shards of rock glued to his hands under his gloves. His chest felt like she was being ground into the side of a cliff. They were thrown to their knees side by side, and Darcy took care not to scream, although it denied her instinct. She guessed Jane had gotten a similar warning, as she also remained silent.

"At last, Miss Lewis, we meet." Darcy heard as she slowly lifted her head to the one who had addressed her.

Shiny shoes. Suit black as the night with only a silk red tie standing against it. The most serpentine features she had ever seen on a human -or what she assumed was a human- stood out on pale flesh under a shock of platinum blonde hair.

"How perfectly fortuitous," he said, "I come here to find the whore of the cast-off, and I discover that of the golden-child as well." The falsely saccharine tone that seemed to drip from his lips caused a metallic taste to rise in Darcy's mouth. "I must say, you are a difficult woman to get alone. He's kept quite the eyeball on you, has he not? Among other things I'm sure. It was only a matter of time until you got too comfortable thinking I wouldn't find you. And here we are." He extended his hands dramatically in a way that seemed understated rather than over the top.

"I'm happy for you," Darcy said, forcing the quake in her voice to still. She had stood up to Loki at his worst, a few times. She wasn't about to let this asshole get the better of her. This wasn't exactly the first time she had almost gotten killed and from people probably more dangerous than some Shadow Council shark. So far Darcy had two pieces of information to work with. A) They had been watching a _long_ time. B) They were there for her, not Jane. She had to get Jane away, if possible. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. A little unfair, since you know mine." Jane looked at Darcy like she was absolutely crazy. For all Darcy knew, she might have been.

"Well now there is a nice, civil greeting," he said, a pleasant smile on his face. "Victor Shaw, at your service, Miss Lewis. It's not necessary to be uncivil in these matters. I'm glad to see Loki has taught you a thing or two about how to treat your master." Darcy gave an obviously false smirk.

"Cute," she said. "Well I'm assuming you are here to whisk me away and kill me in some awful manner. Let Jane go so we can get on with it." The man laughed menacingly. Darcy steeled herself, ready to bluff having balls -or rather ovaries- of steel.

"And the bargaining begins. Why in the world would I do that, Miss Lewis?" Darcy suddenly felt like she understood what was going through Loki's mind when he played chess. He didn't even have a Tesseract's worth of knowledge buzzing around in his head to give him hints here and there. She could suddenly see all of the plays she had available to her so clearly, and what would probably happen afterward. Everyone acted certain ways for certain reasons. Reactions building on guy was no different.

"I'm just the whore of the cast-off, no?" Darcy said. "You can probably get away with killing me or whatever. If you've been watching us, which it appears you have, you know that she's the intended wife of Thor, future King of Asgard. I don't think the Eternal Realm would look too kindly on you messing with its future queen. Of course if you'd like to launch a full-scale war with Asgard _now_ I suppose it wouldn't matter. Considering you've had to slink around in the dark up until now, however, something tells me aren't quite ready for that. Wouldn't want to end whatever world-dominatey plans you've got going on before they even get started, would you? A little birdie tells me you've been partying with Jotunheim. You can see how well a war with Asgard worked out for them." The satisfaction of seeing the shocked and irritated look on Shaw's face was short-lived as Darcy felt a sharp needle in her neck and she slipped into unconsciousness.


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26**

When Jane awoke, the first thing she processed was the incredibly sharp pain on one side of her face and a swelling feeling in her head. Squeezing her eyes shut to keep from opening them, knowing it would hurt worse, she became vaguely aware of strong and familiar hands touching her: one holding her own hand, careful of the IV, the other flattening against her stomach.

"Thor?" she whispered, her throat cracked from disuse.

"I'm here, Jane," a deep voice greeted back softly. She struggled to open her eyes, laying them upon the man who had been waiting for her to awaken. The physicist's eyes felt heavy as lead, forcing her to fight every urge to just fall back into unconsciousness.

"The last time you were in a hospital room, you made quite a mess," she said weakly, clinging to anything that would keep her awake. Seeing the demi-god's concerned face force a small, relieved smile help cut the ties sleep still had on her. "How long have I been out?" she asked, her mind immediately trying to size up the situation.

"Almost five days," Thor said, intensely calm. "The doctors were worried you had a bad reaction to whatever they gave you to put you to sleep, or that they had given you too much. You pulled through, though. You've woken up before, but only briefly." She gripped the hand holding hers more tightly, and he responded in kind. "Much has happened."

"Where did they find me?"

"Near your vehicle in front of the market." So, Darcy's threat had actually worked.

"And Darcy?" Thor was silent as the grave for too long.

"We search for her still," was his only reply. Jane squeezed her eyes shut again, tears spilling from the corners as she brought a hand up to cover her face, careful of the tenderly bruised skin on the right side. She was relieved when Thor joined her on the hospital bed. Tony must have had a hand in it, as her bed was big enough to accommodate Thor's form in addition to hers, not that she took up much room. He tucked her head under his chin as she bunched her thin fingers into his shirt, taking comfort in the familiarity of the ridiculous flannel he insisted on wearing. It was almost a blessing for Thor that he had been given two days to purge all of the overt signs of rage out of his system before she woke. He was glad she only saw him like this, as his temper could be the most terrible of the many failings he still held. She would not be pleased when she saw the state of their home...

Now that Thor's rage was somewhat abated, it only filled his heart with sorrow to hear her softly cry into his shirt. Jane was so rarely overcome that it made it smart all the more on the few occasions she was so vulnerable. The thoughts of whoever had the audacity to harm her threatened to overcome him once more. He was thankful her head rested on his chest, hiding his glowering countenance from her. His expression would have struck fear into anyone with any strand of self-preservation in them.

"They had to have been watching," Jane said, shaking her head. "For the one moment when we felt safe. When we let our guard down."

"This will go unpunished no longer," Thor vowed. "We have made contact with SHIELD again while you slept. They are almost certain they came across the same man who attacked you. He was accompanied by the figure of a woman as he escaped. I am not sure how much I want to rely on SHIELD. I was willing to let Fury handle his own affairs, but his lack of progress has resulted in this. It was not my place before, but an assault upon you and Darcy was an assault upon Asgard, however informal your connection may be for the moment. This man has already shown his willingness to use incredibly terrible power when he tried destroying New York. I can no longer ignore them. Jane, I know it will be difficult, but you must tell me everything you remember. The longer she is gone, the less of a chance we have of finding her."

"I know," Jane said, letting the scientist in her take over. "I remember most of what happened, I think. I need a pen and paper. If you can get everyone who is going to help down here, I'll try to get everything down on paper while they're all here at once." Thor nodded in response, sitting up as Jane did. She paused, taking a deep breath, her dark eyebrows came together as she ran over the memory in her mind.

"I will leave for Asgard tomorrow," Thor said. Jane quickly looked up to meet his eyes. "I must ask my father for counsel on how to proceed and where Asgard will stand in the matter. For your protection, Stark thought it best if you move to his house. I would take you with me, but there are things I would discuss with my father first." Jane, slowly let her eyes drift closed before opening them again and taking a deep breath, nodding in understanding. "I know this is not the time," he continued. "But, have you decided?" She looked up, suddenly unable to tear her eyes from his. She smiled weakly.

"Go ahead and ask," she said.

"I am sorry this is not more romantic, but upon your testing to become an Aesir, will you consent to be my wife?"

"Yes," she said simply. "I'm sorry I'm not more...ecstatic in response."

"There are a lot of things that have not turned out how we planned," he said, attempting a comforting smile as he brushed the hair from her eyes. He was careful of the bruising on her face, and tried to hide his anger at seeing the discoloration. "But we will survive this, and there will be time for celebration later. We will find Darcy, and those responsible for all this destruction will be held accountable." Jane squeezed her eyes tightly, resting her head back on his chest and resting in the silence.

"Thor," she said, "you haven't told me how Loki is." Jane could feel her new fiancee's arms tighten almost painfully around her. She knew he was using so little of his strength, restraining his own power to keep from crushing her small form. If only she could be stronger for him.

"Jane," Thor said, his rich voice finally cracking. "I worry I've lost him again. He has not left their house since you were attacked and Darcy taken. I don't know what he's planning, but I know when Loki is up to something. He would only hide it from me if he thinks I would disapprove. My brother's mind has places far darker than mine, and I do not envy whomever will be on the receiving end of his wrath."

"It sounds like you are not interested in stopping him," Jane said. Thor looked down, unable to read either approval or disapproval from her.

"I will try my best to keep him from ruin," Thor said. "If I can reach him, I will guide him as best I can, to keep anyone innocent in his path unhurt; but these traitors are powerful, and have disturbed forces they should have left alone. Those that are causing chaos on your world -and beyond- I will allow to answer to Loki, for that is his domain." He paused, observing Jane's reaction. She betrayed nothing, her soft and exhausted brown eyes burning into his as she fought to process his decision.

"I thought he would be at my side forever when we were younger," Thor said thoughtfully, filling the silence between them. "Even on the day of my -thanks to him- failed coronation, I knew I would need him with me always. There is so much I don't understand about men like this: men who hurt girls like Darcy and try to destroy their own people. Loki has always understood, though...He has always walked a line between good and wickedness, finding out where it is in everyone. His counsel to me had always been based in that knowledge, even when I did not listen. He knew it was wise to leave Jotunheim, when I thought it cowardly, knowing Laufey would declare war. He will always make the call to give himself the upper hand. I cannot see myself being the king I wish to be without his point of view, even if I don't always choose his way of doing things." He met Jane's eyes briefly, seeing her intense scrutiny at his words. "I cannot lose him again."

"Have you tried telling him this?" Jane asked. "It might help for him to know how much you need him."

"I admit, I have been afraid," Thor replied. "If you had been taken, there is nothing that could be said that would appease me. It appears as if Loki is no less committed to her than I am you, and he is never lukewarm in his feelings, be it love or hatred. There will be no escape for anyone now, especially those who harm her."

* * *

Any outside observer would have thought the half-eaten pancake was the most offensive substance capable of existence, judging from the look on Loki's face as he stared at it sitting on the breakfast table. The morning after he had confessed that he loved her, he had made pancakes for Darcy. Chocolate chip pancakes. Her favorite kind of breakfast: completely lacking in nutrition and full of sugar. She had consumed two and a half of the things, leaving the object of his scrutiny behind to collect flies. In their months living together, he had constantly gotten on Darcy's case about picking up after herself. She was a messy creature compared to his, as she called it, OCD level of cleanliness. Loki had been staring at it for two hours, still not wanting to pick it up.

His body felt as if it was tearing itself apart from the inside. Loki rarely exhausted himself in his use of magic. He had not felt so drained since his initial fall to Earth. He hadn't eaten or slept in days, and instead had sent copy after copy of himself around the city, searching for anything that could possibly lead him to her. When he was done with the city, he went wider, eventually reaching the entire state of California. Not a trace of her was to be found. At least that's how it seemed until SHIELD contacted Stark to tell the California crew that they had spotted Shaw in Washington DC. They saw Shaw and several strange looking followers with a young woman who they assumed was Darcy. Shaw disappeared into thin air with his followers before their eyes. Even going to the site of the disappearance gave him no clue as to where they had gone. The only option he seemed to have was to tear the World Tree apart limb from limb. Tearing apart the World Tree did not seem possible just then.

Like a memory he long wished to forget, he felt a presence behind him. No doors opened. No loud crashing alerted the arrival. The new bifrost must have been quite an improvement in subtlety from the last. Loki would know who it was anywhere. Never would there ever be such a combination of awesome power and yet painful familiarity associated with anyone but him.

"The last time we truly spoke," Loki said, unmoving, "you told me I was not cursed." Silence drew out as Loki paused, not sure if he was expecting an answer. "It appears you even then had more lies to tell."

"These events are brought on by individuals with evil hearts and selfish ambitions," Odin replied stoically. "A choice is always made. It is not a sense of cosmic fortune or misfortune that brings tragedy."

"Is that what she will become?" Loki asked. "A tragedy for me to bear? A reminder of who is hurt when I make poor decisions?"

"If she dies, I gather she would be a vivid example of the many other lives that were lost during your rebellion," Odin replied, his heart breaking at the necessity of firmness when his son was in such pain. He watched as Loki rested his head in his hand that was propped up on the table. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks as he fought to keep his grief in check, although he could not stop his body from shaking slightly. "But I do not think that is the fate to which you, your brother, or any of your fellow warriors have resigned Darcy." He paused. "Nor your mother and I." Loki looked at him for the first time, eyes slightly wider than they had been before, his mouth slightly ajar.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice somewhere between menacing and hopeful.

"Heimdall was able to look upon the face of your enemies in their escape with Darcy," Odin replied, "when they were attacked by your allies known as SHIELD. In a brief moment of their negligence, he saw the Jotunn known as Mammoth aiding the mortal Shaw as they made their escape from Midgard." Odin paused. "Mammoth is another of several potential heirs of Laufey. He appears to have powers beyond that of a normal frost giant: being able to hide from Heimdall, as well as travel to Midgard. He was an illegitimate son, and so his claim to the throne of Jotunheim is suspect. It would appear his plan to prove himself to the other frost giants would be to deliver you as his trophy: the attempted destroyer of their world." Loki blinked away bitter tears as his eyelids grew heavy and his gaze distant. So he apparently had a half brother trying to solidify power by killing him. Sounded vaguely familiar.

"They are trying to use her to draw me out," he said weakly.

"They know you are stronger with your allies," Odin replied. "They know they must separate you first, and will try to bring you into darkness again. If they wanted to kill her, that could have easily been done the other night. I fear their intentions may be more sinister than death." Loki stood, his slightly swollen eyes narrowed at the man he struggled to call 'father.'

"That is twice you have spoken of her as if you knew her," he said, a dangerous edge to his voice, their current preoccupation paling in comparison to Loki's feelings on Odin speaking about her with such false familiarity. "That is twice you have used her name. You '_fear_' for her?" His voice was harsh and strained. "You would never interfere in the life of one mortal without cause. What is it?" Odin observed his son carefully. It had always been his gift to never miss anything.

"You love her," he said, "and she is in danger. Is that not reason enough for me to do what I can to help you?"

"Not for you," Loki hissed spitefully. "There has to be more to it than that. The nature of my relationship with her had only just become what is was. For _once_, can you stop lying to me?" The king breathed deeply, the heaviness on his heart squeezing painfully between his duty to his kingdom and his love for his son.

"Very well," Odin said, a resignation in his voice. "I speak as if I know her because I have made her acquaintance already." Loki's anger turned into pure confusion, his chest rising and falling quickly in his attempt to keep his heart beating with the same rate as the rest of his insides seemed to be moving. "Darcy's assistance with you and your brother here on Midgard earned her no small amount of credit in her standing with Asgard, especially considering your trespasses against her during your war. Not only that, but your mother was convinced many weeks before her abduction that you would ask for her to be made an Asgardian. Knowing the danger ahead of you, we decided it could not wait until you asked for it, and so her testing began several weeks ago, where I met her for the first time. I had hoped for it to be complete so that she would be more able to defend herself against what was coming. Sadly, we were too late, but we did not want to put her through unnecessary trial prematurely if you decided to part ways."

"Her testing?" Loki repeated, his brows coming together in the middle of his forehead. A simple comment compared to his usually complex line of thinking.

"For her to attain a place among our people," Odin continued, "She does not know for exactly what she is being tested, but only that she is performing a service for Asgard. The choice, of course, will be hers in the end, if she succeeds." Loki's mind raced with this new information. Darcy was already being given the chance he had been so certain she would never have? Darcy _had_ already been given the chance. His mother. She had known. She had known him better than he knew himself, as always, and put this into motion. His father had actually...listened.

"Why?" Loki asked, feeling as desperate as he did the day he discovered his heritage. "Why would you do that?"

"As I said before," Odin repeated. "You love her, and you are my son. I cannot make anyone Aesir without testing, but I could never deny you that chance. Do you think me so indifferent to you?" Loki felt as if he couldn't breathe. As if his stomach was clenching up around his heart. They had been so close. So very, very close. She was being tested, something he could never have hoped for, only to have her ripped from him just as he let himself finally care about her freely, regardless of the consequences. And Odin. He had allowed the testing. It wasn't even in spite of her connection to him, but _because_ of it.

He felt as if every cell in his body would burst. He grabbed the plate of decomposing pancake, throwing it against wall with a resounding crash, wanting to throw their table through the wall with it. He managed to stop himself, gripping the edges of it until his knuckles were white, staring at his hands straining against the wood, fingernails scratching the finish. He was not the brother who flipped over tables. Odin showed little surprise in the expression on his face, though inside he reeled from seeing his son in such despair. Odin came to stand closer behind him, wanting to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. As he lifted his hand, the gap between them seem to grow, stretching out like a vast empty space across which even he could not reach. He put his hand down.

"She's been increasingly ill for several nights," Loki reflected slowly after several silent moments, not seeing his father's conflict. "She's been having nightmares. What sort of test did you give her?"

"I have already compromised it greatly by telling you of it," Odin replied. The all-father was surprised with how little argument he was hearing from Loki. "If she is to become Aesir, she will have to overcome her greatest failing of rashness. I can reveal no more than that." Loki actually found himself rolling his tear-stained eyes. Darcy overcoming rashness? They were doomed.

"It continues, then?" Loki asked. "Even now?"

"A test, once begun, cannot be stopped," Odin replied. "Overcoming adverse circumstances is as much a part of the test as any of it. But she has not failed it."

"I have wasted too many days searching this realm," Loki said straightening, his voice and face returning to an impassive facade, save for the evidence of tears down his hollow cheeks. "We were speaking of this...Mammoth. And this mortal: Shaw. What has Heimdall seen? What would cause them to form an alliance?" Odin immediately noticed the shift in his son as Loki's mind began turning.

"Heimdall saw them pass into the realm of Jotunheim with Darcy two days ago just before they were hidden again. I have sent several emissaries to gain the cooperation of the rest of Jotunheim to search for them. We have been met with little success, of course. Many of the Frost Giants believe Mammoth will steal the Casket from Asgard and bring Jotunheim into a new age, although the more powerful warlords oppose his claim. As for Shaw, Heimdall has seen a great use of power from him. He appears human, but we suspect there is far more to him. He was willing to convince the protectors of Midgard to destroy its own land. I can think of few things that would drive a man to such lengths of destruction."

"The Tesseract," Loki concluded, still absorbing the fact that Odin had sent Asgardians to search for Darcy. "If Manhattan had been destroyed, only _it_ would have remained, with no one surviving to know what had happened to it." Loki's arms crossed over his chest, and he propped his chin up with a hand thoughtfully. "They both want something from Asgard. Do they really think they can steal them?"

"Do not mistake Shaw for a normal human," Odin said. "There are many individuals who have evolved past most mortals here. Some with truly terrible power. He has aligned now with a Jotunn who hates Asgard more than anything, you most of all, and is more powerful than the most of Jotunheim as well. I do not doubt Asgard's ability to defend itself, but it would be better if we could stop the violence before it truly begins." A sudden opening at the front door grabbed the attention of both of them.

"Loki!" they heard Thor call from the foyer. "Jane has woken! We must all gather to-" The God of Thunder stopped short as he entered the small dining room, shocked, to say the least, to see the King of Asgard standing there, along with his brother. Everything seem intact, save for a dirty plate on the floor, so the confrontation must not have been nearly as bad as he had imagined. "Father," he said, genuine surprise in his voice. "I was...going to come to ask you-"

"I know," Odin said. "I was told, but you have little time to spare. Loki can relay my report from the eyes of Heimdall. I cannot stay long from Asgard. If their target is the Casket and the Tesseract, all must be vigilant. I hope what I have told you will help you find her, and keep the rest of you safe." With less contemplation, Odin brought a hand to rest on Loki's shoulder. "I regret that I do not know her better to reassure you of her strength. I must only trust in the esteem in which you hold her, which I know you would not give to someone unworthy. Keep faith in what you know about her, and that you will yet see her again."

The king did not expect Loki's arms to come crushing around him, his awkwardly long limbs shaking in emotion long since buried, the force of everything that had been said threatening to overwhelm him. Odin did not hesitate to embrace his son as he had longed to do since he had fallen from the bridge, or really, since he had found out his true parentage. A single tear slipped from his one eye as it slowly closed. Odin knew he had many mistakes for which he would answer. That moment holding his son was his first true hope that perhaps not all was lost for the two of them. Odin pulled slightly away, resting a firm hand on the side of Loki's head.

"You make me very proud, Loki," Odin said, rare emotion straining his words. The tears streamed from the trickster's eyes once again. "I spent centuries trying to mold you into something you were not. I thought it would be better for you in the end, but even I am not immune to folly." He paused smiling wistfully. "It took a slight human girl for me to see what it looked like to truly accept you for all that you are. Perhaps I can testify to the strength of Darcy Lewis yet, no?"

Loki nodded weakly, resting his hands on Odin's shoulders, and Thor felt a knot untie itself in his heart. His own questions would have to wait.

* * *

_ Darcy clicked her heels together boredly as she swung her legs from her chair, waiting for Loki to make his move._

_ "Can you hurry up?" Darcy said. "You are taking forever. This game is already boring enough."_

_ "It is you who chose this game, pet," Loki replied. "Just as it is you who is actually taking forever. We are in your mind, after all."_

_ "Well, you don't have to _say_ it like _that_," she pouted. "That's the whole point of hallucinating, right? If you go around telling me that, I might remember where I am. And besides, when I get out of here, I might _actually _be able to beat you at chess_._"_

_ "You must always remember where you are," Loki said. "Even if you are trying to escape, you must know from what you are escaping." He smirked, moving the bishop in to capture one of her undefended knights. She frowned. Although she should be pleased, since some other part of her mind was making his move. "And I'm not even sure all of the knowledge of the Tesseract will enable you to beat me at chess."_

_ "You are Loki's imprinty thing...well, my interpretation of Loki's imprinty thing. Since I have you, I _technically_ have everything Loki knows."_

_ "Ah, but the discipline to actually understand it and use it: do you have that?" Darcy shrugged._

_ "I've come this far," she said, looking around at the imaginary room in which she found herself. It was entirely white with no walls: it just seemed to span on forever. They sat at a large chess table, the black from the board and pieces contrasting sharply with the rest of their pale surroundings. Nearby, a set of free standing bookshelves kept full rows of white, unmarked volumes. Other than that, the room was absolutely empty. She always imagined her mind would be more...chaotic. The tightly organized and bare space was actually kind of comforting, though._

_"I will admit, you may color me impressed," Loki said as she cautiously moved her rook up the board, leaving the rest of her court undefended. "What was once a swirl of incoherent voices and memories, you have managed to contain in this little scenario. Checkmate." Darcy pouted again as imprint-Loki cackled. "Come now. That's enough games for the present. What shall we learn about today? We have many hours to pass." Darcy watched as Loki's tall and lean figure stood, regally dressed in an outfit similar to his normal Asgardian attire, walking over to bookshelves she had arranged in her mind. _

_Of course, all of the books were white and unmarked. She did not know what was in them. But they were finally quiet and waiting patiently on the shelf instead of buzzing around in her head. Only the few she had looked at had a subject title on the side. It was how she had spent the past five days. Collecting and containing all of the knowledge of the Tesseract in a way that did not drive her absolutely insane. It was actually not so hard to do when trying to avoid all aspects of reality: specifically, what had become endless hours of sensory deprivation, starvation, needles, and really scary men. Darcy was perfectly all right staying in her imaginary room with her imaginary boyfriend whose real counterpart she missed so much she could scream. His imprint was a nice reminder of how smart he was, and she even had some control of how she perceived him, but Loki had been in the throes of insanity the last time he had contact with the Cube. His ability to comfort her, sadly, did not come with the Tesseract package._

_ "I'm still waiting," imprint-Loki said. "We have the magic of Asgard, the legends of Vanaheim," he paused, smiling, "but something tells me you prefer something a little closer to home."_

_ "Psychology," Darcy said._

_ "Ah!" imprint-Loki said, pleased, as he removed a few books from the shelf. "Finally, we are getting somewhere. Midgard seems to have spent much time on this subject. Particularly your World War II era. Some of the most brilliant minds in the world of psychology came in contact with the Cube at this time. Right when many people were trying to brainwash an army. Sound familiar?" Darcy rolled her eyes._

_ "Tell me about it," she said, taking one of the books as he placed the rest on the table. She yelped as a crash resounded around the room, feeling the imaginary floor shake beneath her feet. It took grasping the chess table to keep her steady as imprint-Loki stared down at her stoically. There was only one tremor, and Darcy breathed a sigh of relief when none followed._

_ "They are trying to get in here," Darcy said. "I can't let that happen."_

_ "Why?" Loki asked. "You must remind yourself, or you will forget when it matters."_

_ "I can't let them find the scepter," she said. "I can't let them know I have it. If they do-" her words caught in her throat as a swell of fear rose in her throat. "If they do...brainwash me...I could be in a whole lot of trouble."_

_ "You could use it, of course," he suggested, smiling. "It would make even an unthreatening little thing such as yourself formidable." A short, dry, chortle escaped her._

_ "And get myself killed?" she questioned dryly. "SHIELD even tried to save me. They threw everything at that guy... Shaw. He just...threw it back. I'd hate to see what he would do with a beam from the scepter. The way he did that..."_

_ "How did he do that, Darcy?" imprint-Loki asked. "Do we know?"_

_ "No," she said. "He's never had the Tesseract before. But...other people have. People like him. Mutants with crazy powers like that." She paused. "Either way. I would just be handing the scepter over to him, and then this whole thing Odin had me doing would be ruined. If Loki finds out, he might never make it back to Asgard."_

_ "Ah, yes. The All-father's test. There is a whole mystery to unravel on its own, isn't it?"_

_ "Maybe later when I don't have a bunch of psychopaths trying to break into my brain for God-knows-what reasons."_

_ "Explore all possibilities Darcy," imprint-Loki chided. "Why are they trying to break into your mind?"_

_ "I don't know!" Darcy said, frustrated. "Not the Cube. That's not why they took me," she explained to herself. "I'm pretty sure Odin knows how to keep something private."_

_ "Would he want to keep it private?" imprint-Loki asked. "What if he wanted you in danger?" Darcy rolled her eyes over to rest on him._

_ "Okay. No more talking, you. I can't focus with you asking me all of these questions. Just because _you_ are crazy and paranoid doesn't mean _I_ am going to be. Yet, anyway. First thing when all this is over is I am going to rub the Cube all over the _real_ Loki to update your ass."_

_"An interesting picture to paint, if I've ever heard one," he replied cooly._

* * *

"Well, now this won't do," Shaw said, crossing his arms. "This just won't do at all."

"What are you complaining about now?" Mammoth questioned, his deep voice resonating in the cave walls. He still found it hard not to simply step on the mortal that compared to an irritating insect next to his own massive blue body, but knew better.

"I've been forced onto this icecube now by _my_ underlings," he complained. "How am I supposed to educate her properly without access to my lab? That child's mind would have been cracked in three days if I had all of my tools. Instead, we get to watch her sleep for a week while we do things the old fashioned way, and short-staffed to boot."

"Your _underlings_ have already learned too much about me," Mammoth said. "I'll not risk another trip to Midgard. You have your device, do you not?"

'Not that I have anyone to _plant_ it," Shaw said, holding up what appeared to be a small microchip. "You can't just go around throwing one of these all willy nilly around in there. You could scramble her pretty little brains. She wouldn't be able to properly torture your big brother as a vegetable, now would she?" Mammoth growled, staring at the unconscious mortal girl laying in front of them. She certainly did not look very appealing for a mortal, though he imagined that had much to do with her skin's sickly pallor and the incredibly dark circles under her eyes. Her hair hung limply in knots around her head. She looked so...weak. _This_ was the mortal the fearsome Loki of Asgard desired? Mammoth supposed he would desire her less when her transformation was complete.

"I still see no reasoning for this," Mammoth said. "She is not our target. Loki is. With enough strength, we could have gone directly for-"

"My fellow popsicle, please," he said arrogantly, "leave the planning to me. Loki brought an outer space army of some unknown overlord, and the Avengers _still_ managed to defeat him. Now that he is joined with them, you have to break them up from the inside, if you want this done correctly. When that's done, you can dress him up in a pretty little dress and march him through this tundra for all I care, as long as I get the Tesseract. Then the earth will be all mine, and the Casket will be yours."

"This plan is based on too many assumptions," Mammoth said uncomfortably.

"Loki plays to win. You can always trust a man, or god for that matter, who plays for himself to always do just that. That's why I like their type: my type. Which brings me back to this little jewel," he said, inclining his head to the comatose Darcy. "He'll never kill her, even if it will be a mercy in the end. Mercy isn't in his nature. Even if she does try to kill him and every one of their friends -and I assure you, she will- he will never give up something he sees as his to use. None of those pesky morals to get in the way of pure selfishness: it's quite admirable, really. And when she gets to Asgard, I'm sure there will be enough of a ruckus to let little ol' me and you get what we came for. See? No big war. No overtures of grandeur. Just nice and simple taking what belongs to us." A deep rumbling was his only response.

"I swore I would not lead Jotunheim like this," Mammoth replied. "There was enough bloodshed under Laufey to last lifetimes. This risks war with Asgard. Loki tried to destroy our entire race. I can justify his execution. But she..." He trailed off, not finishing his sentence. Shaw rolled his eyes.

"There is not a man in power who got there by sending a fruit basket to the people already in place," the mutant replied, looking in distaste at ice under his fingernails.

* * *

******AN**:

Heads up about a few things. About Mammoth. He is an actual character in the comics that I could find absolutely no info on other than he was actually Loki's maternal half-brother (in mine, he's Loki's paternal half-bro). So, his existence and name are not mine. Any history/goals/ etc, I made up, though. Most of you who have seen X:Men First Class probably have some solid theories on Victor Shaw, but you will learn more about him next chapter. Any mutants I mention are OCs, but I might reference X:Men vaguely.

Any questions, please feel free to leave in reviews (cause I hope you leave those!) or PMs.


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER 27**

"Then there is little doubt that target we engaged last week was also Dr. Foster and Darcy's attacker, Victor Shaw," Nick Fury confirmed as he surveyed the room in Stark Tower where the Avengers had assembled again: this time, it was to bring back one of their own. Thor, Stark, Banner, Jane and Loki stood rather closely on one side of the room. Fury, Romanov, and Barton stood on the other side, while Rogers -ever the mediator- stood in the middle. The reunion had surprisingly been met without too much fallout, as they had a mutual enemy to focus on rather than each other. What tension there was mainly consisted of Loki glaring figurative daggers at Steve Rogers, wishing to use literal ones. It was unfortunate that finding Darcy made throwing the boy off of the roof seem petty in comparison. Later, perhaps. "The identities of the members of the Shadow Council are kept secure from all subordinate agencies, so finding out the identity of Victor Shaw has been no small task."

"So, this entire time you have known nothing about the governing body of your organization?" Banner questioned, his quiet but keen sense of sarcasm coating every word.

"The Council was supposed to be a union of all nations to fight again super-attacks. It oversees many agencies besides SHIELD," Fury answered, surprisingly less defensive than he had proven to be in the past. "Protecting the identities of the members was necessary to keep them from being compromised, even from us. But several other members of the Council finally contacted us a few weeks ago after weeks of discreet inquiry. They, apparently, have been suspecting foul play from him since the attack on New York. Our suspicions were confirmed by his attack on us in Washington when we attempted to talk to him.

"Victor Shaw's influence, I'm sure, played no small part in his ability to gain a position on the Council, in spite of his classification as a mutant. It appears he was able to keep the majority of his abilities hidden until now. His father, Sebastian Shaw, headed the Hellfire Club in the New York area in the 60s before his death, leaving his son with several powerful connections. Victor has held a few high level government positions for several decades until he disappeared about ten years ago."

"If one may inquire," Tony began, raising up a single finger before placing it over his mouth and then pulling it away again as if struggling with something, "how does bursting into a thousand shiny pieces from an attack and then coming back together go unnoticed? What even in the actual hell is that?"

"Diamonds," Jane said, garnering everybody's attention. It had been a reactive response muttered to herself, but when the physicist realized she was the center of everyone's focus, she realized it was best to explain. "We've been studying the video we have on them for days," she elaborated. "With any impact, he breaks into small shards and reforms back into flesh. Light refraction analysis from the footage is consistent with organic diamond. He was able to throw everything SHIELD fired back at them. It's like he absorbs and can use it. And then there are those other guys with him. The guy who grabbed me was...cold...and...huge. And whoever grabbed Darcy was some kind of...rock...man. Sorry, those probably aren't the technical terms."

"I am assuming the cold one is a Jotunn," Thor said. "If not this Mammoth, then a frost giant serving him."

"The rock guy may very well be another mutant," Natasha interjected. "There's no telling how many people he has working for him."

"He wasn't able to get many of them to Jotunheim," Loki said. "We have been told that if there is any movement between worlds observed by Asgard, that we will be notified. There is no choice. We will have to go to Jotunheim if we want to save Darcy."

"What I don't understand," Rogers said, "is why he would take her? I get why he has spent so much time in hiding. But now he's just exposed himself to take her alive even though she was no threat to him anymore." Tony could swear he heard crickets chirping as the members of the team who weren't exactly on the up and up about what had been going on in California wondered the exact same question as Rogers. He sighed, knowing no one else was going to man up to explain it.

"Well basically, Cap, Mr. Reformatory and our damsel in distress are, like, totally going steady now," Tony began, doing is best valley girl impression without actually changing his voice. Loki rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in irritation, inwardly relishing the horror with which the news was received by Rogers, however tactlessly delivered. "And since Mammoth has a personal vendetta against Gandalf the Green over here, my guess is they are planning on doing something awful to piss us all off, him most of all. Their end game is as good a guess as any. We have a few theories involving ice boxes and the Tesseract, apparently, but nothing solid."

"Not that I really have any room to talk," Barton said, "but getting kidnapped by the bad guy isn't her new thing, is it?" Loki glowered.

"Let's hope they don't take as much of an interest in her 'tasers' as the last one," Tony replied, eyeballing Loki pointedly. The glowering continued. "Whatever we do, though, we need to do it fast. We have no idea how much time she has or what they are even planning."

"I will be accompanying my brother," Thor said. "We understand none of you are obligated, with Darcy no longer being a member of SHIELD, but we will be stronger in numbers together. I fear we will not be well met in Jotunheim. I hope to be as diplomatic as possible with the Frost Giants, though I have done nothing to gather many allies there."

Tony and Banner already stood next to Thor and Loki. The four of them met eyes, an understanding reached that of all those present in the room each of them would protect Darcy with their lives, each of them basing their resolution on their own particular attachment to the girl. Natasha stood tall from her reclined stance against a counter, crossing her arms over her chest and planting her feet firmly to the floor, a clear indication that she was in. Barton followed behind his partner. Steve Rogers nodded in agreement, at last.

"We need a plan," he said. "Even if we find her, we have no perceivable way of bringing in Shaw. If Miss Foster is correct, than anything any of us throw at him can potentially be used against us."

"But," Jane offered, "theoretically, that means he might not actually have anything to attack with himself. Hopefully. Well, except an actual weapon."

"Let us hope so," Loki said, the hollow look in his eyes making Jane feel terrified and heartbroken at the same time.

* * *

_Darcy could only hear her own breath rapidly entering and leaving her lungs as her bottom lip trembled, wrapping her arms around her knees to try and stay warm, resting her forehead on her forearms as the scepter lay balanced in her lap. Her room had walls now, and it was becoming smaller every day. Her chess table lay in pieces in the corner. The walls were crumbling in. Books lay strewn around about her: mainly everything the Tesseract had on conditioning and the dissociative fugue state had caught her interest. She could use some fugue right about then._

_ "We cannot waste time with this nonsense," imprint-Loki said unsympathetically. "If they find you here, then whatever is left of your own mind will be lost. You are already mad out there. They have already trained you to do as they wish." The throbbing pain on the back of her skull distracted her from his words as she tried to both focus on and ignore him. "Do you have any idea what will happen if they find out you have that?" Loki gestured towards the scepter. "Using you to try to kill your friends will be the last thing on their mind. You've heard what they said. Shaw wants the Tesseract. If he knows you have a link, it's going to be worse than it already is." Darcy's body trembled, tears warming her cheeks just long enough to freeze and crack away._

_ "I can't hold on much longer," she said weakly. "I'm not strong enough to fight them any more."_

_ "If you stood up to me, I refuse to allow you to submit to the likes of them," he said stubbornly. "You do not have to be strong to be brave. Stop fighting them. You just need to hide."_

_ "In my own head?" she asked desperately, lifting her head up to look at him. God, she missed the real one. She forgot how much she hated that crazy-Loki hair. _

_ "Yes, then. Here if need be. You know it can be done."_

_ "And what happens to me out there?" she asked shakily, looking up at the dilapidated ceiling._

_ "It won't matter," he said. "There will still be a part of you here. A part that can be saved when you are safe again. But you better bury it deep. Everything that is important, you better tuck away. You wouldn't want to go remembering what you've got locked up while trying to kill your friends. You'd ruin your plans." Darcy stared blankly at the scepter in her lap._

_ "Just give up?" she said. "Just...become a monster or whatever it is they are making me without a fight?"_

_ "You never fight on ground you know you can't win," imprint-Loki stated condescendingly, as if he were teaching her how to build a Play-doh snowman. "It may feel noble to hold fast until the bitter end, but you rarely win that way." A cruel smile appeared on his achingly familiar mouth. "Besides, pet. Have you seen yourself lately? I would say them making you a monster can no longer be referred to as a future occurrence." Darcy's face contorted in pain as she looked down at her hands, seeing the mixture of blue and peach arranged in splotches on her skin._

_ "Loki would never say something like that," Darcy assured herself, wrapping her arms around herself. She was uncomfortable with his laughter._

_"Well, _someone_ said it, Darcy. Whether it was you or him is anyone's guess."_

* * *

Tony had been properly warned that Jotunheim was a frozen tundra, compared to Earth. Not only that, but these particular aliens had some pretty wicked superpowers involving freezing people on touch. He had a pretty vivid recollection of what had happened when he had first flown too high and reach the freezing point of the atmosphere of his own planet: he did not fancy a repeat. He had made a few adjustments upon initial testing to deal with earth's atmosphere, but never went much further as JARVIS had so arrogantly suggested he would never be visiting another planet. Guess if there any appropriate time for a robot to have a slice of humble pie, it would be then. Not only that, but he had to download a file of JARVIS directly onto his suit. He wasn't exactly certain of his wireless connection between galaxies. He would have to remember to try to call Pepper though. Just to see. His life, really, continued to get stranger and stranger.

He hadn't paid attention to what time it was -which was three in the morning- or how tired he was -which was very- until he noticed Bruce place a cup of coffee next to him on what was left of his desk.

"Is this how you plan to work off the cost of the damages you did to my playhouse?" Tony asked, picking up the cup. Bruce have a lopsided shrug, a smirk trying to form on his mouth, but failing. "I approve of this."

"Do you need any help?" Banner asked. "If we are leaving tomorrow, you aren't going to be functioning if you stay up much longer."

"When I was trapped in a cave with terrorists, I got less sleep than this," Tony replied in the most serious tone Bruce had ever heard from him, taking a drink of his coffee. "I think I can hold out a for a little while. It shouldn't be too much longer." Banner nodded, knowing when arguing was futile with Tony. This was one of those times. Bruce took a sip of his own coffee, sitting in a chair not too far from Tony. The billionaire looked absorbed in his computer screen, seeming to be completely unaware of Banner's scrutiny. The doctor knew better than that. "Something on your mind there, broski?"

"No, not really," Banner said, rocking back in his seat. "I was just...wondering how you were doing." He paused, watching as Stark showed absolutely no change in focus at his question.

"What, you mean since the one person I've ever come close to caring about as much as Pepper was kidnapped to be tortured in some kind of awful way in an attempt to spite her space boyfriend I told her to steer clear of to begin with?" Stark's attention never diverted from the screen.

"Yeah," Banner said hesitantly. "About that time."

"Ask me when we get her back, and I'll tell you how I was doing now." Banner was quiet for several long moments.

"I know you don't care very much for Loki," he started hesitantly. "I don't think I'll ever be able to fully trust him either, however grateful I am. But, I think he genuinely cares for Darcy, too."

"Not that I don't love talking about El Toro, but was there supposed to be a point to this line of discussion?" Banner patiently waited for the heavy sigh from Stark to pass before he continued.

"You haven't exactly hidden the fact that you blame him for her kidnapping."

"Really? I thought I had been pretty discreet with that opinion. What'd I say?"

"You called him a 'shit' and said he was the reason she was kidnapped."

"That doesn't sound like me."

"I just think," Banner said patiently, "that it would be better if we all stuck together on this. The guy already looks like he's hanging on by a thread. Blaming him won't get her back any faster."

"The guy's been hanging on by a thread since he came here," Tony retorted. "I don't like it any more now than I did then. The only thing that _has_ changed is that I care about that stupid kid now _like_ the kid I was never dumb enough to have, except with more inappropriate sex jokes thrown in her direction. If he really cared about her, he would have left her alone to begin with. He's done nothing but use her since, starting with kidnapping her _himself_ and brainwashing her to help him take over the world, just like the guys we are trying to save her from now. Just because he's now deciding to have a crisis of conscience doesn't change any of that. I know ever since he helped our experiment that you've jumped on the 'Let's be friends with Loki' bandwagon, but I'm staying right here. I hate wagons." Banner took a drink from his coffee, allowing his friend to do the same as he still continued to upload Jarvis to his suit.

"I'm not on a bandwagon," Bruce said. "But, I do recognize another person trying to fight some pretty intense inner demons when I see it." For the first time Tony paused his work, still keeping his eyes on the computer before he slowly resumed. Banner continued, "He doesn't have Darcy around to help him try to keep himself in check any more. _We're_ what he's got now, and I don't think we should let her down. She loves him, too." The steady sound of Tony typing on his computer slowed, the keystrokes becoming less rapid as Tony reluctantly absorbed the impact of what Banner was saying.

"I think I'd prefer you as the Hulk right now," Stark said. "You don't talk as much.

* * *

Victor closed the last stitch at the back of the girl's head, a snarl of disgust on his serpentine features.

"I hate doing this kind of thing," he said. "This is what subordinates are for." He tossed a look at his companion, the one other stoic mutant who had managed to make it to Jotunheim with him. "Well, ones with smaller fingers not made of stone. No offense, Rocky." An amused laugh escaped Victor as he looked back at Mammoth, casually pointing a bloody scalpel in the direction of his one underling. "He used to hate it when I called him that. Doesn't really care one way or another now. I actually forget his real name..." He thought for a moment before dismissing the question. "But at least there is some good news." The Frost Giant looked at his mutant ally, who tossed the curved stitching needle and bloody scalpel in a sanitation solution.

"Sleeping Beauty's -well, not so much on the beauty anymore by most standards- but her genetic treatment is complete. As soon as that little device settles in, her mind should be nice and in order with a few more treatments. She has to learn who her masters are, of course. I have to admit, I got a little crazy with this one," he continued, a pleased smile forming on his thin lips. "Of course she has some of your people's power: comes with a territory for the desired aesthetics. I had some leftover DNA from a few other subjects, though, and I threw a little in there as well. When she finally does wake up, she should be quite a handful. It's too bad her end result will be to die. With a little more work in my actual lab, she could have really been something for my army."

Mammoth looked over the pleased mortal with no small amount of disgust. The child in question once again lay nearly lifeless on the makeshift operating table, connections to Victor's strange Midgardian devices running around her. There was the bag, of course, that gave her just enough nutrition intravenously to keep her from actually dying, never truly abating her hunger. A method to help the behavioral modification, as Shaw called it. Whatever device Victor seemed so excited about was now resting under the bleeding stitches just behind her head. He watched as her face shifted in her unconsciousness, contorting in pain.

"What is it you make her see?" Mammoth asked. "During your...treatments? How do you do it?" Victor grinned.

"Ruin the surprise?" he said. "I thought you said you wanted nothing to with this."

"I am curious of how easily mortals can be manipulated. From what I can tell, you have done nothing except pump her full of toxins and withhold food and water. I suppose whatever those things do is useful to you." Victor's smile grew wider.

"The power of suggestion truly_ is_ remarkable," Victor said, approached the table again, staring thoughtfully down at the child. Most of the time, he held some sort of glee about him when seeing her suffer. Mammoth noticed a more thoughtful face in this instance. "Mortals are more cerebral creatures than you imagine. It is painfully easy to drive a person to be criminally insane. What is truly the difference between a 'good' person and someone who would try to destroy everything around her? People like to say we have souls that can be pure or corrupt to help them sleep at night. They always want to put the blame off from themselves. It's always God or the devil or a spirit that makes us do what we do. Truly, it's all about how the proteins lay in this little muscle we call the brain. Is that not incredible? Our very emotions are nothing more than chemicals in our brain telling us to feel anger...or hate...or fear. And now she," he tapped the back of her hair where the stitches were, "can have the luxury of feeling all of them at once. Completely unrestrained. Difficult to control, sadly, without access to all of my toys. But I don't need her controlled. I need the exact opposite, actually."

Mammoth rarely knew what to do with Victor's usually insane ramblings. The Jotunn had little interest in the affairs of Midgard, or whether or not the most powerful member of the human race wanted to build a mutant army and take over his world. He did, however, find it tragically curious as to why the Realm of Asgard would try to exterminate his own realm while protecting a world with far more perverse monsters than himself. He supposed Laufey's warmongering leadership had earned little favor in the eyes of the universe, but not all of the Giants were like that. Some simply wanted to live peacefully in a world restored from centuries of bitter war. Mammoth supposed he was doing himself no favor by allying with such an unstable mortal in order to gain power, as well as trying to assassinate the rogue prince of Asgard, but all would be different once he was legitimately proclaimed king. Loki was a murderer who had tried to kill his entire race. When he had the Casket, and Loki was killed by his own hands, then they could start to rebuild.

A sudden tingling ran down Mammoth's arms and into his fingertips. The sensation was as familiar as breathing, and he recognized it immediately. Frowning, he allowed his incredibly long and heavy strides to carry him to the cave entrance, located far up in the mountains, looking down below on what was left of the capital city, which wasn't much. Someone, or something, had come over that didn't belong.

"Now, now, my taciturn companion," Victor said, holding Darcy's wrist with one hand, checking his watch with the other. "What has your loincloth in such a bunch?" Mammoth growled.

"They are coming," he said. "They are here. I felt someone enter my realm." Shaw shrugged in response.

"With Loki's knowledge of dimensions and their connections to Asgard, it's not surprising," he responded calmly. "Every one of your people knows of Loki's attempted target practice with this planet. I'm sure the intruders will find themselves unwelcome enough soon. If we keep a low profile, I doubt they will find us up here."

"I will go down to meet them."

"That is the exact opposite of a low profile, I'm quite sure," Victor said, impatiently.

"The last visit from the sons of Asgard ended in many deaths," Mammoth said. "I do not wish casualties. My people down there are innocent." Victor shrugged.

"Suit yourself, if you wish to get killed," Shaw said. " But do not say a word about where I am. You still need to get me into Asgard. If you die with an IOU to me, I will take it from whoever is left here." Mammoth clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at the mortal, but did not retaliate as he nodded, disappearing down the mountainside. "Pfft. Moron," Victor muttered after Mammoth left.

He looked down at the still unconscious Darcy. She did not appear to be a full Jotunn. It appeared as if her peach skin was splotched with blue pigment over about fifty percent of her body. Only half of her face seem unaffected by the gene treatment, while a swirl of cerulean coated the left side. The characteristic patterns usually raised in the skin of a Frost Giant were on her body as well, though they were crooked and asymmetrical, even on the normal side of her face. He was even more pleased than if she had been able to transform into mostly a Jotunn. She was now a perfect combination of the two races Mammoth's target hated most. How poetic. "Honestly now, it's a wonder how you ever caught anyone's attention. All you've done here is alternate between cry and lie there unconscious. But...who am I to judge? To each his own, I suppose." Her pulse was extremely low when he had taken it. He debated on whether or not to check it again. It wouldn't do to have her die after all this work before any real fun began. Her chest was barely moving. He leaned forward to check to see if any air was being blown out of her nose and mouth.

One red eye and one blue opened as he leaned over her face, a small blue hand with incredible strength gripping his throat and tossing him across the room. His body crashed into the icy rock wall about twenty feet away, his body immediately disintegrating into thousands of small shards of diamonds, ripping in a dangerous mist through the air only to reform in full human shape. She was already on her feet, staring wildly around the room as his large, rock formation of an underling advanced to attack her. He really couldn't place his name...

While Rocky towered several feet above the girl, she used her newfound unnatural speed to duck out of the way of his punches, landed several of her own to his midsection, causing her knuckles to bleed from the hard rock of his body. She still succeeded in breaking off parts of him. He roared in pain as she jumped and spun, kicking him across the face with her heel, and landing one final kick to his chest, sending him across the room and into the wall on the other side. She turned back to Victor and crouched like tiger waiting to strike. Her eyes were wild as she looked at him, shifting focus all around the room, looking for danger. When she saw he was alone, she stilled, lowering her body as close to the ground as she could while still standing. All was still and her eyes widened impossibly as she looked at him, a snarl forming on her lips. He didn't bother reacting as she took off for the cave entrance, diving down the mountain side.

Victor inclined his neck to the side as if to remove the cold feeling that still lingered from her hands. Straightening the lapels of his jacket he headed to the cave entrance. He vaguely heard Rocky moaning in pain as he struggle to get up, parts of his body on the floor. Shaw watched the small figure, dressed in nothing more than a hospital gown, sprinting down the mountainside almost vertically as fast as her much stronger legs would carry her.

A smile formed on his face, watching her figure become smaller and smaller in the blue night of Jotunheim, the shadow of her body visible only in contrast with the snow. She would find them. Or, what was more likely, they would find her. And she would make them regret sound of Shaw's laughter echoing from the mountainsides was the last thing Darcy heard as she sprinted as far away as she could.


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 28**

"So, when someone says _'What in the blue hell,'_ this is the place to which they are referring?" Six other people tossed Stark a look varying anywhere from annoyance to amusement, with Loki and Banner being on the extremes. Thor led the group with Loki just behind him, both in their full armor. Bruce, Rogers, and Tony took the middle while Natasha and Barton took to the sides from a distance. Thor was aware that the cold was affecting his mortal companions more than Sif and the Warriors Three and, in spite of the garments provided by SHIELD to provide protection, he hoped they would not to have to remain in Jotunheim for very long. A look to his brother told him he was not the only one hoping for an abbreviated stay.

Jotunheim still bore the destruction from Loki's attack, as deep gashes into the earth of the frozen realm attested. A deep canyon seemed to divide the capital city from the mountains on the other side as the seven of them ventured forth to the city. In spite of the simmering rage that had taken up residence in Loki's stomach for the previous three weeks, a small hint of remorse managed to work its way into the mind of the God of Mischief. What had been a brief period of absolute instability on his part a few years prior had resulted in devastation still very prominent on the landscape of the realm of the Frost Giants. The remorse was short-lived as he remembered that Laufey's would-be heir retaliated by kidnapping Darcy, the one truly innocent person in all of this.

His upper lip curled discreetly as he looked at the carnage around him. Perhaps he could accept Jotunn heritage within himself, and that he had more control over his own destiny than he had allowed himself to believe since discovering it. However, Mammoth had taken something of his (Darcy would resent implied ownership, but for all intents and purposes, she belonged to him), and trying to overcome centuries of cultural differences was not something he was in the mood to entertain. Finding Darcy was.

It took about an hour of walking in relative silence to reach the outskirts of the city. Loki had to remember that for everyone except for Thor, it was the first time any of the Avengers had ever travelled to another realm, except for Stark's brief, near death experience. He looked back to see how the rest of his companions were doing, and the first person he noticed was Captain America taking in the terrifying landscape. Loki glowered, returning his gaze to his brother's back. What Rogers was doing here was beyond him. He would be borderline, if not completely, useless against a Jotunn. The only thing he would succeed in would be slipping and falling down into the canyon next to them. Wouldn't that be a shame? A fleeting desire to cause a rock to trip him, just enough to put the fear of his God into him, passed as his thoughts inevitably returned to Darcy.

"Stop," Loki said suddenly, causing everyone to stop short and his brother to turn around just in time for an arrow to come flying from the left into the ground a safe distance away. He looked down, satisfied to see his suspicions confirmed by the archer. "We are being watched." If there was one thing Loki had noticed about Barton it was that he knew when eyes were on him, visible or no.

"So says the man trespassing in a realm not his own any longer," a painfully deep voice resonated behind them. "You should not be surprised." The five of them turned, assuming a full defensive stance as a creature bigger than any of them had expected appeared behind them. Bruce manage to keep himself from hulking, though his eyes began to flash green.

"You are Mammoth, I presume?" Thor said stoutly, marching up to the front, forcing Iron Man and Rogers to hop out of his way. Loki rolled his eyes as he turned fully, remaining in the back. His brother could be such a clod sometimes. The thought immediately faded as he stared at the frost giant who had met them. If this was not Mammoth, he shuddered to think how big Laufey's heir was. He stood to be at least five meters tall, and would have surpassed even the Hulk in height and breadth, had been out to play at the moment.

"Presumption is the least of your faults," the frost giant replied, "but you are correct."

"Then you know why we have come," Thor said, the civility he was trying to keep strained. "Return to us our friend and we will leave as quietly as we came." Loki arched a fine brow in his brother's direction, feeling far less charitable, but willing to play along, for the moment.

"That would rather defeat the purpose of bringing her here," Mammoth said, casting his eyes towards the empty, hollow canyon. "You bring our would-be destroyer while you attempt to talk peacefully?"

"My brother is here at my aid and his presence is meant as no insult or threat. He has been sentenced for his crimes by Odin All-Father."

"Yes," Mammoth said, the harsh, mocking tone causing Thor to stiffen even more as Loki joined him at his side, realizing his presence was not being ignored as he had hoped. "Banishment to Midgard with his human consort. What a just punishment indeed." He stepped closer to the lot of them, his heavy footfalls causing the ground beneath them to vibrate.

"And what punishment would you think appropriate?" Loki asked, his tone even. Mammoth narrowed his eyes at the trickster, lifting his chin up in response.

"This realm has been devastated by the war with Asgard for centuries. The source of our power was taken, and we have been forced to dwell in ruin under a cruel king since. In your childish fit, you ravaged our land with destruction, killing many, even our women and children. Clumsy are the feet of the sons of Asgard." Mammoth paused a moment, his emotions imperceptible. Loki did not miss the purposeful look shot at him when the frost giant said _Asgard_, and his heart clenched momentarily at the severity of his crimes which he had not considered before. "This trespass would warrant nothing less than your execution." Loki straightened purposefully, his mind turning and searching for the right thing to say.

"You call for justice," Loki said, "while taking your revenge at the same time? Both cannot be afforded. You have taken a Midgardian with no place in any of these events while conspiring with another powerful human traitor with ill intentions toward his own world and your only justification is my wrongdoing." Loki glanced at Thor, and the brothers shared a meaningful look, while Thor gave a nod almost imperceptible to any except Loki. "You have already started your path to power in innocent blood. If you truly wish to rule differently than Laufey let your actions prove it. Let her go, and deal peaceably with the king of Asgard, or his heir, in regards to the justice which you would have done to me, but do not expect treatment in good faith while you hold a hostage."

The moments of silence that followed drew on longer than was comfortable. If anyone had been able to see Stark's face, unadulterated shock would have to be the reaction named, as he saw a side of the God of Mischief he had never seen before. In Stark's mind, he had equated Loki to an unstable megalomaniac, and that was on a good day. Listening to him negotiating with a frost giant whose planet he had almost destroyed to try to get Darcy back -and what was more, it seemed like it might actually work- Stark had to promote him to a smooth-talking, manipulative, somewhat stable megalomaniac. He was no longer surprised his newest employee had ended making a long list of bad decisions with said god. Loki had probably convinced her it was for world peace, or something.

"In spite of the pure contempt in which I hold you, I will admit you are correct," Mammoth finally replied. "This is not what I originally wanted, but I have made alliances that I will not betray, and it is too late to change what has been done," he said.

"What has been done?" Thor demanded, his booming voice losing restraint. "My patience grows thin."

"If she is dear to you," the frost giant replied, "then go now. You will not find what you came for any longer. My repentance shall be to forgive your trespass this one time, and I will do what I can for her." Thor glowered angrily.

"Repentance for what?" Thor railed once again. Another silent arrow found itself just in front the brothers. Everyone's eyes immediately went left in the direction they knew Barton was. Upon seeing nothing, all began scanning the perimeter, including Mammoth, who became uncomfortable that they had an ally he had not seen.

"Three o'clock," Tony said, elevating up high to get a better look. All sets of eyes scanned the vast canyon stretching down to their right, save Thor and Rogers, who kept their eyes trained on Mammoth between stealing glances. Stark, Loki, and Banner held their breath as the ominous givings of a coming collapse teetered for balance at the top of other side of the canyon. In front of the wall of snow that began moving down the hill, a small figure seemed to be sprinting down the side of the canyon just in front of it.

"What the-" Stark started. Thor gritted his teeth as Mammoth met his glare with his own impassive stare before glancing at what the commotion was about. By that time, Romanov and Barton had sprinted to join the rest of the group.

"Female," Barton said, catching his breath. "About 5'5. Long hair. I think that's our girl." Loki's breath caught in his throat, watching the figure move like he had rarely seen any other being move, let alone her, running at an almost perpendicular angle and fast. She was so far away, and yet it looked like she was just barely outrunning the avalanche forming behind her.

"I did not understand fully what he was doing until it was too late," they heard Mammoth say. The Avengers turned back to him, beginning to feel the earth beneath their feet tremble from the distant movement. "We sought to hurt you by making her what you hated most. I had little issue with that. But other things..." he paused as Loki came closer, a white-hot burning rage shining out of his green eyes.

"What...did you do?" Loki whispered staring out across the vast expanse towards Darcy, who was fast reaching the bottom of the canyon.

"She can have a place here," Mammoth continued. "She has a chance here, in this desolate land where she holds no connection. If you take her back with you, she will destroy all of you, or die trying, one way or another. It is all she will know. All she will breath. All she will sleep. He has made sure of it."

"Then you will have no objection to us retrieving her," Loki said, turning back to the Jotunn briefly. Mammoth straightened, lifting his head. Loki only wished he had time to kill him.

"Not in the very least," he replied, his voice unreadable. "Do not linger here long." As he stepped back into the shadows, disappearing from view, the seven of them, almost as one unit began to move, heading down to get Darcy from the bottom of the canyon before the snow collapsed in on her. Thor began spinning Mjolnir, readying himself for flight as he walked up and grabbed Rogers, rocketing up into the sky. Loki came up behind Hawkeye and the Black Widow, putting his hands on either of their shoulders as they faded away. Banner groaned as he looked over at Stark.

"Don't act like your dreams aren't about to come true," Tony said, patting his back, waiting expectantly. Banner came up behind him, wrapped one arm around his shoulder and held on tight as Iron Man propelled up into the air. "Don't worry, the suit is metal. I won't feel the need to confess anything to Pepper when I get home, so you'll be fine."

"Maybe I should just let the Hulk get me down there."

Loki immediately left the two humans he had taken with him to their own devices a safe distance away as he ran towards the crashing snow, setting up many doubles to scan for Darcy, who had become difficult to see. Mammoth's warning rung hollow in his ears at the prospect of having her soon. It didn't matter what he said: if he could only get her away from here, everything would be fine.

The sinking feeling he had at how easy it had been to find her and that Mammoth had not tried to stop them was pushed aside as he searched desperately for her figure in the churning snow. A thousand fears seemed to be playing musical chairs in his head, all of them circling around and taking turns being seated. What had Mammoth meant by any of it? Turning her into what he hated most? If this was Darcy, how had she been able to move like that? This could all be a trap, but Barton had been able to make out a description. He couldn't imagine there were too many beings of that stature in Jotunheim.

His brother and Stark immediately came to his side, both of them holding their hands high to keep the snow out of their eyes. Thor set Mjolnir down and called out Darcy's name, his loud, booming voice fighting against the volume of the moving snow. As Loki focused on all of his vantage points, he thought he could vaguely make out her shape, but she was gone as soon as he spotted her. Time seemed suspended as he fought to catch a glimpse of her, the only sound in his ears was that of his own breathing and Thor shouting her name.

He had about a half-second warning from the viewpoint of one of his doubles as an achingly familiar and yet foreign girl knocked him over on his back, breath squeezing out of his lungs, and crouched curiously over him, her bare feet and small hands digging into his stomach. She stared at him for what was probably a few seconds, but seemed to stand still when her eyes locked with his. Mammoth's came crashing back into his mind as he stared into the familiar blue right eye of his lover, and a new, unfamiliar eye of a frost giant taking the place of its twin. The irregular blue patterns of skin and raised flesh seemed to stretch over the heart-shaped face and full lips he had learned so well. The dark circles under her eyes had grown worse, and her cheeks seemed gaunt and hollow. Her long, dark locks hung wet, stringy, and limp around her head, with random strands plastered to her face.

"Darcy," he whispered involuntarily, a mixture of relief and horror in his voice. He saw her eyes narrow briefly before his head snapped to the side after her cold fist cracked across the side of his face.

And it hurt. Badly. Stars actually clouded his vision and he felt the weight of her leave him as she springboarded off of his stomach painfully. He dismissed his doubles as he put all of his energy into trying to shake the cobwebs from the unexpected blow.

By the time was able to stand and focus again, he could see that the six of them had formed a tentative circle around her. He watched her crouch low to the ground, one bare, blue-splotched leg extended from her body, the other tucked in perfectly balanced.

"Easy there, kid," Stark said, his helmet coming up and stowing back into his suit. Thor kept Mjolnir a safe distance away, his hands held up almost defensively. Banner stared at her anxiously, his ever-perceptive eyes taking in all of the physical changes he could discern from the small figure in front of them. _Tiny lady_, he thought, an invisible weight feeling like it was squeezing his insides. Barton kept his bow low, ready and waiting for her next move.

Natasha also remained as equally prepared as her partner, but after seeing how "new" Darcy had been able to outpace an avalanche for almost a minute and had just knocked the God of Mischief senseless for a brief moment, she wasn't sure engaging her physically, even just to restrain her, was a good idea. The problem with all of them was that this wasn't an enemy on which they could just let loose. It was...Darcy. Natasha could still see her there. She was thinner, sickly, her eyes shone almost no recognition to any of them, but somehow, it was her. The assassin had to wonder at the idea that of all the opponents they had faced, Darcy, in her strange way, was the one she feared most. All was still as the seven of them surrounded Darcy and her head snapped back and forth from one side to another, desperately looking for something.

"Darcy," Tony said. "Darcy, calm down. It's us, it's Tony. You're safe." Her head snapped to Tony, slowly standing to her feet, every muscle in her body tense as he approached her.

"Stark, be careful," Thor warned, watching as Darcy visibly alternated between stretching and curling her fingers. Slowly, ice seem to spontaneously grow over the tips of her fingers, forming sharp curved claws on each one. The breath caught in Thor's throat. "Stark." The warning went unheeded as he stepped just one more step. Faster than any of them expect, Darcy took a swipe at Tony's unprotected face and he managed to lean back in time to miss most of the attack, catching four deeper than comfortable scratches across the cheek. The helmet immediately came over as she jump kicked him in the chest, causing him to stagger back as she darted through the gap between him and Rogers. Steve managed to head her off, knocking her down, but she immediately turned the fall into a low kick, swiping the legs out from under him. His attempt had thrown her off just enough to give Thor time to come up behind her, wrapping his massive arms around hers, pinning her arms to her side. She flailed every which way, knocking the back of her head into Thor's face as hard as she could. He tried to hold fast, worried as he realized blood that was not his own was getting into his nose. He had to grit his teeth in pain as the places where her skin touch his burned with the chill of a frost giant, though slightly less severe.

"Loki!" Thor yelled. "I need your help!" Loki was at his side just as Banner decided that Hulking would make him slightly less useless. He roared, letting his body grow bigger and bigger. Thor chucked Darcy into Loki's arms, who immediately began turning blue at the contact with her, though he remained unharmed, as he tried to keep her pinned in a similar fashion.

"Darcy, darling, please," he almost begged, slightly less successful in keeping her controlled. The sound of his soft pleas only seemed to make her struggle more wildly against him, her sharp, icy claws burying themselves into his forearms causing him to cry out in pain.

"No, no, no!" she screeched. The only thing that stopped her from squirming was when the Hulk came to stand right in front of the two of them, and let loose a roar as loud as he could muster. She froze -adding a figurative interpretation to the literal- as he reached out a massive green hand, wrapping it gently but firmly around the two of them.

"Tiny Lady stop!" the Hulk raged loudly, her movement coming to a complete still, her mismatched eyes wide in terror as she stared at him. Loki could feel her trembling in his arms, whether in fear or fury, he could not tell. Panic rose up in his chest when she suddenly went limp, her full weight -less than he remembered- falling to the ground as the Hulk released his hold. The thin tranquilizer arrow in her leg explained her surrender and Loki slowly sank into the snow, cradling her form. His breath became heavy as he tried to catch it, leaning in and pulling the arrow from her leg. The tip was padded, with only a small needle on the end; it came out cleanly enough. He looked up to see the others approaching them: Thor was nursing a few frost burns on his arms, Tony had his helmet back down, trying to stop the bleeding on his face, and the Hulk stood over them as quietly as was physically possible for him, his heavy breaths coming off as soft growls. The other three simply looked on in horror at the partially blue girl held in Jotunn Loki's completely blue arms, a form previously unseen by any of them. It was somewhat of a surprise, except for Thor.

"Well," Tony said, holding a cool metal hand to his face, "that went well."


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER 29**

Needless to say, handing Darcy over to SHIELD, unconscious and blue or not, hadn't been on the agenda of any of the California crew even if their first stop was New York City. Fury had insisted that SHIELD's doctors would be best suited for evaluating her condition, but Stark had not-so-respectfully declined, saying she was the responsibility of Stark Industries. The irony of the Iron Man getting stitches in his cheek, courtesy of the girl in question, while insisting that they could handle her had not been lost on Loki as he listened on, watching over the still-tranquilized Darcy in the next room. He was absolutely exhausted: his magic felt stretched thin from teleporting seven other people across dimensions...twice. He felt naked standing in his Jotunn form in front of everyone -who graciously asked no questions- since touching Darcy had brought it out just as touching a frost giant or the Casket did. The wounds on his forearms from the ice-claws that had formed over her small fingers still seared in pain, and in that moment Loki wanted nothing more than to go...

Home?

Of course going home, at least to the one he had made with Darcy, would not be so easy as that. If she awoke in the same state she had been in upon them finding her, he doubted they would be able to pick up right where they had left off. Would she be more calm? Would she attack them again? Would he be able to talk to her?

They had found that she was severely dehydrated and starving, and had immediately set her up to receive fluids and nutrients from an IV drip until she awoke. She was filthy and thin, the threadbare gown she had been wearing covered the bare minimum. Loki desperately just wanted to get her bathed, fed, and clothed so that she could at least start looking like her normal healthy self again, even if she was...blue.

As the Avengers raged against the SHIELD crew, Loki passively stared at Darcy, carefully reaching out to touch her much more serene face. He brushed some stray locks from her forehead as he listened to the lot of them arguing over where she would be kept. His jaw clenched as the acidic bile of pure rage threatened to bubble up from his stomach and into his throat while he stared at the new play of color on the left side of her face which now matched his own hand. The thought of whatever sorcery or science was used to violate her in such a way -in an attempt to gain vengeance on him, no less- was a little bit more than he felt he could take just then. He traced the irregular patterns raised on her forehead and chin, tilting his head to the side as he listened to the Midgardian devices track the steady beeping of her heart. His eyes fluttered closed, hot tears running down his face only to freeze on their way down.

Perhaps before, it would have worked. Perhaps a month, a week, maybe even the day before, he would have turned from her, a constant reminder of everything he hated about himself. It terrified him to think of how quickly he would have abandoned her...not so long ago. That one day. That one perfect day he had before she had been taken had changed the rules, and he couldn't go back. It was only three weeks ago when she had lain beneath him, a gentle smile on her face as she had traced patterns of her own on him, reassuring him of her love and demanding the same courtesy. She had accepted who he was: monster or man, hero or villain, broken or whole. She had stood by him, as faithfully as his own family, through every step of his journey since the day he had almost lost himself and taken her life in the process. While Loki told lies often, he tried to avoid breaking promises. He had sworn to her that he would give her everything he had left. He resolved to keep that vow, promising himself then that no matter what had or would become of her, he would stand by her just as faithfully, either until he saw her restored or they destroyed each other trying. He owed the universe at least one good deed.

Loki had to admit, he did not know where she should go. His first instinct, however far-fetched, was to take her to Asgard: his true home. However uncertain his relationship with Odin was, if anyone would know how to help her or how to learn what exactly had happened to her, it would be him. Even if he or Thor were able to get her in, his own banishment would keep him from being at her side. If it meant getting her well, he would be willing to trust his brother to look after her, though he wasn't sure he would even know where to begin asking for that. He didn't exactly have a lot of credit in the department of asking favors from the All-Father.

"If Darcy is now classified as a potential threat, then her place is here under SHIELD supervision. I don't care if she was working for McDonald's," Loki heard Fury day from the next room. Loki rolled his eyes, forcing himself from Darcy's side to join in the supposed judges of her fate. He left a double behind to watch over her as he joined them in the next room, his Asgardian coloring returning.

"She is unstable and volatile, both physically and mentally." Thor said firmly, trying to keep Stark from retorting. "She will need to be in a place with people she can trust during her recovery. I think we all know that place is not here."

"You have no place to contain her," Fury pointed out.

"I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something," Tony quipped, hissing a bit as a doctor finished the last stitch in his face. "Is this going to scar?" he asked.

"The cuts are clean. Scarring should be minimal, Mr. Stark," he said blandly. Tony seemed relieved as the doctor gathered his tools and disappeared from what was probably the most uncomfortable experience of his life.

"She has important information on Victor Shaw," Fury continued. "We have no idea what his plans is in doing all of this."

"And we will get that from her as soon as she is able," Stark snapped. "I'm not going to let you start playing twenty questions about the guy that spent the last few weeks treating her gene pool and brain like his own personal Lego set. Whatever minimal information we would probably get from her will not be worth alienating her even further. She could crack at any moment, if she hasn't already, and we might not ever be able to get her back if we do this the wrong way." Stark stood. "You don't care what actually happens to her, as long as you get your job done, which is exactly why she left you in the first place."

"And you care too much," Fury said. "I wish no harm on Miss Lewis, and it is unfortunate that this happened to her, but I can't put her temporary comfort ahead of the thousands of people that might be harmed if we don't find out what Shaw has planned."

"So we'll let Shaw win the battle so we can win the war?" Banner questioned, regretting that he had forced himself to calm down from hulking. "Give up the on what we were trying to protect to protect something else?"

"We're not 'giving up' on anything-"

"I hardly think," Loki interjected as he slowly entered the room, "that an organization with a secret operation to build weapons with the Tesseract can now be entrusted with the product or your latest enemies' experiments; especially when your latest enemy was a _member of _your organization, and was able to go unnoticed for nearly ten years on the most powerful council you claim to have."

"I don't believe this concerns you," Fury said boldly, his displeasure of having Loki there in no way hidden. Loki smirked quietly.

"My brother is as involved in this as any of us," Thor defended, his voice, as always, a commanding overstatement.

"He's part of the team, for the time being," Stark seconded, crossing his arms arrogantly. Fury narrowed his eye at Stark.

"I'm sure that opinion is in no way affected by the fact that he agrees with you," he said.

"Hence the 'time being' part."

"He kept my head from splitting open during our experiment to try to control the Hulk, which was successful, not to mention that he'd been helping us for weeks during research," Banner added. "Plus he had our back when we went to find her. He has a right to be here."

"Okay," Rogers finally interrupted. "We don't know how long she is going to be out exactly, so we need to stop arguing and come up with a plan. Fury," Rogers said, looking to the director, "We don't know if Shaw had any other influence in SHIELD. No offense is meant," he looked pointedly at Tony," but it's not safe for us to even question her, if we can, here. If we continue to keep her with Stark, Shaw won't have any way to know what we find out while you guys continue your investigation from within SHIELD. Barton, Romanov," he said, turning to the two taciturn individuals in the corner, "you should come back with us to California. You can report to Director Fury to keep him up to speed on our progress, and help in case Darcy is still unstable or dangerous when she wakes. Natasha, you're Darcy's friend, and she can use as many of those as she can right now." Natasha nodded quietly before turning her eyes to gauge Fury's reaction.

"Oh, and, you have about two more hours before that arrow wears off," Barton said helpfully. Steve nodded.

"Good," he said. "Loki?" He turned to the tall figure leaning against the doorframe. "Can you get Darcy, Stark and Banner back to the Stark Mansion quickly so they can try to figure out a way to keep her from hurting anyone before she wakes up?" Loki nodded graciously, pleased that the Boy had enough sense not to issue him a command. It would go in the captain's favor when he finally got enough time to kill him properly. "Is everyone good?" Slowly, nods of agreement came from the Avengers, and even Fury. "We'll meet at the Stark Mansion, then." Everyone took that as a signal to break as Stark and Banner immediately went to Darcy to unhook her from all of the equipment, save for her IV. Tony immediately got Pepper on the phone to get ready for their return.

Loki caught eyes with his brother, knowing that Thor meant to speak with him privately. It still surprised him that after all they had been through, they still shared that unspoken language they had since children. As the rest of the Avengers filtered through to prepare to move, Loki and Thor found a private office next to the conference room.

"Loki," Thor began gently. "I appreciate your willingness to join us."

"I wouldn't get too sentimental, brother," he replied with a weak smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "Darcy is my concern, and joining with your little friends is beneficial to me. I will not deny that I am endeavoring to prove my loyalty to _you_ once again, but that does not mean I desire membership to your club." Thor, to Loki's surprise, smiled.

"Of course," Thor said. "Having you at my side again is more than I could have hoped for. Now that Darcy is back, we can fight this enemy head on."

"Yes," Loki said, an unsure look on his face. "Thor, there is something I didn't tell you, I'm afraid." The thunder god's face fell. "It wasn't that I didn't want to, but, I wasn't sure how." Loki paused, unsure of how his news would be met as Thor, though concerned, waited patiently for him to have it out. "When," he breathed heavily, "father came after Darcy was taken, he told me something. That Darcy was being tested." It took Thor several long moments for the gravity of his words to sink in.

"You mean," he said, "to become an Aesir?"

"Yes," Loki replied. "I was as surprised as you are now. You know I had never hoped that it would be granted to her; but mother called for it, and Odin acquiesced." Thor's heavy brows suddenly came together.

"Did she pass?" he questioned.

"Not yet," Loki said. "But she has not failed, meaning the test goes on."

"Now?" Thor said. "What in the world could her test be?"

"Father couldn't tell me, only that she hadn't failed." Loki paused. "I am banished from Asgard, I have no right to ask anything of its king. But you..." he paused, an emotion unreadable for Thor coming across his countenance. "I have no idea how they could have done this to her. To make a mortal woman part Jotunn? With powers even beyond that? Even if Banner or a doctor can figure it out, I doubt anyone on this realm can undo it."

"You want to ask if father will help her?" Thor asked. Loki did not find it necessary to answer his question directly, and Thor continued, "If Darcy receives any direct assistance from the All-father during her testing, it is forfeit. She will not be allowed to become an Aesir."

"I know that," Loki snapped, crossing his arms. " You think I do not? You saw her out there, brother. She didn't even know who we were. Who I was. She stared right into my eyes and I saw..." He stopped, turning away, irritated.

"What did you see?" Thor asked quietly.

"I saw what I saw the day I almost killed her," he said. "There was just...nothing. Not a spark. Just. Nothing. If she's gone already, how can she hope to pass the testing? If we can restore her, she can at least have her life back as close to the way it was." He stopped again, finally meeting his brother's eyes. "They did this to her to get to me. This...Mammoth's hatred for me has done this. _I_ have done this. It's the least I owe her." Thor crossed his own arms thoughtfully, pacing the room.

"Whatever has been done to her is...unnatural," he said. "If she...were able to pass her test, and become an Aesir... all corruption would leave, along with her mortal form."

"I cannot imagine there is any hope of her accomplishing that now," Loki replied, a sadness unlike Thor had ever heard lacing his words.

"I do not think that is for you to decide, yet," Thor said. Loki tossed a half-annoyed, half-hopeful look towards his brother, returning his gaze to the drab white wall of the office they occupied. "Brother, listen. We are exhausted, we are angry, and we should not make any decisions now. I know you want Darcy back to herself as soon as possible, but it will take time. We have no idea what else Shaw and Mammoth have done to her to make her attack us on sight. You also want to bind yourself to her, do you not? As an equal?"

"She is more than my equal," Loki said, sitting down in a nearby chair. "I would bind myself to her regardless."

"A far less painful fate if she is granted immortality," Thor said, sitting in the chair next to him, resting his elbows on his knees. Even Loki was unable to argue with that. "I did not mean to imply she was less, of course. I doubt you would wish to watch her slowly die as all mortals must, nor watching her grow older while you stayed as you are. Let us get back to our Midgardian homes, and handle this with fresh eyes later. For all we know, it was simply delirium that will heal along with her body that made her act so."

"Mammoth's words make me believe otherwise," Loki replied ominously. "I do not know what to make of him yet. He clearly had a hand in this, and for that I would kill him. But...his...repentance? I do not understand that. Why would he let us walk freely while going through all of this trouble to take Darcy?"

"I think he intended to make her a Jotunn to lure you into coming after him," Thor said. "And that is wrong, no matter what his justification. I also believe he got more than he bargained for with Shaw. I will encourage father to hear his grievances justly so that Asgard will not be at fault for _our _crimes, but he will also be held accountable to his crimes against Midgard. This Shaw character..." Thor gave pause. "I honestly think we could deal with Mammoth without bloodshed, if we all were able to put aside our differences..."

"After what he's done?" Loki demanded. "To Darcy? To Jane?" Thor gritted his teeth. His brother knew all too well what words to speak.

"And what have we done?" Thor questioned, a harshness entering his voice. "I marched into Jotunheim looking for blood while you tried to annihilate their entire kind. His anger with us is justified, even if his actions were not." Loki was dissatisfied with his brother's newfound ability to reason against him, despite the fact that he had encouraged it their entire lives. "Think Loki. It is you who has always been better at strategizing than I. What are our best options?" Loki sighed into his hands, scraping his fingers through his hair; it was beginning to get longer again. Darcy would want it trimmed.

"It _would_ be better to narrow down our enemies," Loki admitted as he stared at the floor, head still in his hands. He propped himself up, sucking in a deep breath as if he was about to say things he didn't like. "If Mammoth's true intention, as you seem to think, is to solidify power and restore Jotunheim, and not further vengeance on Asgard, then it would be better for you to make an ally of him. He cannot be any worse than Laufey." Loki thought a moment, meeting his brother's eyes.

"Invite him to meet with you and father," he continued, "and see if he would be willing to give up Shaw, or at least to discover what he knows. We do not know what strength the mortal has, and I would rather overestimate than the alternative. In exchange for the capture of Shaw, offer him use of the Casket." Thor leaned back, a severe look of uncertainty on his face. "_Use_ of the Casket," Loki repeated, "to restore his lands, with possibility of restoration of it if Jotunheim is able to live peacefully with Asgard and the Nine Realms under Mammoth's rule. It is the one thing you have that he truly wants. If it is you who volunteer it, he might give up on requiring our, or rather my, execution as a peace offering." Thor nodded. "Or we could always just kill him, slowly, but I am guessing you are wanting the diplomatic approach." A tolerant smile appeared on Thor's face.

"Thank you, Loki," Thor said. "I shall ask Father if he would allow this. He has been willing to come to the aid of Midgard before. He may still. I'm not sure if he would be willing to turn the Casket over to a Jotunn who has aided in the kidnapping of mortal under trial of Asgard, but that sounds like it may work." Loki nodded, a heavy sigh escaping him. Thor rested a hand on his shoulder, sensing the discontent in his brother. "Father knows how far you've come. I'm sure your reinstatement will come soon."

"He did not even mention it, when he came to see me," Loki replied sadly. "Darcy becoming immortal will hardly matter if I am to be stranded with no identity here."

"I doubt Father would bother to test her if he did not anticipate you coming home. Come, now," Thor said standing and throwing an arm over Loki's shoulders when he followed suit. "Enough of this depressing chatter. Our women are safe. That is something for which we should be thankful and we should focus on getting Darcy well while we try to locate Shaw. I care not for these warnings from Mammoth. It is only a matter of time before she remembers who her friends are, I do not care what he says." He playfully grabbed Loki's jaw for a brief moment. "Besides, who could forget this face for long?" he asked, adding a gentle tap to his cheek before offering his best smile. Loki looked as if he were ready to kill Thor once again, but seeing him standing there, grinning like a fool, clearly trying to cheer him up managed to wrestle a weak smile from the God of Mischief.

"Touch my face again, and I'll do worse than drop you from the sky, brother," he threatened pleasantly.

"Come now, Loki, you really must come up with some new threats. I'm starting to get bored with them."

* * *

The sun was just setting when Darcy Lewis' eyes finally opened.

The stillness of the room seemed to give off a deafening frequency as she struggled for consciousness. In spite of the constant chill of her skin, she felt warmer than she had for as long as she could really remember. She dared to move her fingers, feeling an incredibly soft blanket beneath her fingertips. Her eyes widened as she sat up in her bed, staring at the large bedroom she did not recognize, the phantom ringing in her ears going silent.

"Good morning, your gloriousness!" greeted JARVIS. Darcy looked around a moment for the voice before realizing what it was. "It is 5:32 PM Pacific Time. I hope you are feeling better, madam. Your personal items are on the chaise lounge in the corner." The window curtains slowly drew open and a spectacular view of the California scenery threatened to almost blind her as she brought up a hand to block the light. Startled, she stared at the mixture of blue and peach-colored flesh as she slowly brought her hand back down to examine it, the discomfort of the sun in her eyes forgotten. Turning it over several times, she curled and stretched her hand before gingerly disconnecting the IV from the back of her hand.

Her small bare feet touched the soft carpet as she examined herself. Her body was clean. Her hair was washed and soft once again, hanging in long dark curls around her face. Although she still felt hungry and sore, she could tell she had plenty of fluid in her body. As she walked over to the familiar suitcase on the chair, she looked down at the short, green nightie she recognized as her own, though she wore nothing underneath. She flipped over the lid of the giant suitcase, an impeccably organized collection of her things greeting her: her clothes, her favored bathroom supplies, her iPod.

She almost went to slip off her nightgown to change into actual clothes. The thin straps of her nightgown were off her shoulders when she gave pause, her entire body going completely still.

"I know you're there," she said to seeming nothingness. In the mirror, she could see Loki shimmer into view out of the corner of her eye, a smile on his face as he did.

"Impressive," he said, seated in a chair in the corner of a room.

"Not really," she said, her tone holding no inflection. "Your breathing is so loud, one could mistake you for the Hulk." His smile widened.

"Can you blame me? Please. Don't let me stop you." She seemed to think a moment before slowly letting the garment drop to the floor then she began rummaging through the suitcase he had packed for her. He took a sharp intake of breath, surprised she had actually done it. Everything about her seemed so...closed off. Distant. Even as she stood bare before him as she had done countless times before, she looked as if he was not there. He frowned.

"Not how you remember me, I imagine," she said, holding up a black tank top for her inspection, still no emotion in her voice. "I suppose I should have expected as much. I wouldn't be happy to see me either." Loki stood, slowly approaching her as she dressed in black yoga pants and the black tank top. Not exactly the color pattern she normally picked, but she seemed comfortable.

"Darcy," he said. "Never let me hear you say that again." The most disconcerting smile, even for Loki, appeared on her partially blue lips as she turned around. He admitted, it was strange staring into her eyes as they were, but even that he could adjust to. It was the emptiness that got him. The absolute absence of any warmth. Everything just seemed...

Cold.

He continued approaching her until he was mere inches from her, able to feel the coolness coming from her skin, forcing her to lean her head back slightly just to look up at him. Her false smile faded as she stared back into his eyes, her normally easily readable countenance a mystery to him.

"What?" she questioned flatly. "You tried destroying a planet when you found out what you were," she said. "Was I to expect something different when you found out what they made me?"

"I love you," he said, bringing his hand to her face. She flinched, causing him to pause, but he continued, his own skin slowly turning blue when he touched her. "Nothing they've done can change that." She reached up and squeezed his bandaged forearms, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Wait," she said, pulling away from him. turning back to her suitcase. Her fingers found her glasses before tossing them to the side, apparently no longer needing them as he looked back down at his forearms, sending another wave of healing magic down to them.

"What did they do to you, Darcy?" he asked, seeing only her back as he slowly drifted back to Asgardian form. "Why did you attack us?" She turned her head back slightly before returning to look at her suitcase, her hands running over her things. It almost seemed as if she didn't know the answer. "Whatever has happened, I can help you. We can get through it together, I know it won't be easy. But you are not alone." She was quiet so long as he slowly approached her, he began to wonder if she had heard him at all.

"Do you think you are going to save me, Loki?" she finally said, another empty smile on her lips.

"You don't need saving," he said. "You just need some help. But you have to choose to let us."

"Choose?" she asked. He heard her laugh quietly. It was not the pleasant sound he remembered. "No, my love, don't you remember? Freedom is life's great lie." Loki froze behind her, feeling as if his insides ceased movement at her words. His words. The first ones he had ever spoken to her. "Once you accept that, in your heart," she spun around just as he caught her hand holding an ice dagger aimed for his chest. She tilted her head to the side, eyes meeting his. "You'll know peace."

* * *

"It's been three hours," Jane said, trying to ease her nerves by spending time with Stark and Banner in his workshop. "Shouldn't we go check on her?"

"Loki's keeping an eye on her," Banner said, drilling in the walls for the new cage being installed in the Stark workshop. "It will be better if she isn't overwhelmed by everyone all at once. That might have been what scared her when we picked her up."

"And you wouldn't like her scared," Tony added, pointing to his face as he assisted Banner. His friend couldn't hold back the humorless chuckle.

"No, you wouldn't," Banner seconded. Jane frowned, continuing to sweep up some of the glass in the far corners of the room. Helping clean up was the only way Jane was able to bribe her way into the workshop. Ever since she had turned down Tony's offer of work at Stark Industries, she had been purposefully and painfully excluded from what Tony called the "Boys Only and Darcy Club."

"Do you really think you need...a cage?" she asked nervously. "I mean, it's Darcy. Are you going to lock Darcy in a cage?"

"Just a precaution," Banner said. "It is Darcy, but a stronger, faster, with scary ice claws Darcy. We'll see if Loki can calm her down. If not..." Tony finished his sentence by tinging on the cage with a drill.

"It will take time," Tony said, surprisingly without the normal snark in his words. It made Jane pause to look at the billionaire. "Everything that made her feel like she was safe is gone. Everything that mattered before probably seems pretty trivial." He looked up to see Bruce and Jane staring at him. "Speaking from experience, of course. We can't just snap our fingers and expect her to be back where she was. We just need to give her some space." He shrugged his shoulders. "Just as long as that space isn't my face."

* * *

Loki had finally managed to slam Darcy to the ground, her arms pinned just to the side of her head as she squirmed wildly, desperately trying to get him off of her. Her neatly packed suitcase he had spent _so _much time on was now strewn across the room, along with some of the furniture overturned. She was strong: perhaps even a little stronger than him, but she was frenzied in her movements. He was thrown a bit when she stopped suddenly, then pushed up with her legs, throwing him over her head, and flipping to land on top of him, her knees falling to either side of his hips, another dagger of ice forming in the hand she held just next to her face. She paused suddenly, her eyes went wide, a spark of life for the first time actually showing in her eyes as she stared incredulously down at him.

"Really, baby? _This_ is what does it for you?" she questioned. Loki smirked, his Asgardian form now holding, even at their contact.

"What can I say?" he said, a stiff shrug of his shoulders that were pinned to the ground. She was about to bring her dagger down on him when she suddenly felt a scaly squirming. She looked at her hand to see the dagger had turned into a black snake in her hand. She gasped, throwing it across the room where it broke into several pieces of ice. She practically pouted as his laugh grew louder.

"That wasn't very fair," she said as he flipped her back on her back, pinning her arms to the side of her head once again.

"Darling, who do you think you are talking to?" he said, even more amused as bands of magic came up around her wrists, holding her fast to the ground. "And we are far past fairness, I believe."


	30. Chapter 30

**Thank you so much for you loyal reviewers still sticking with me!**

**And thanks to my awesome beta for almost immediate proofing. Ahem *justanothersentencefragment* ahem**

* * *

**CHAPTER 30**

Thor had decided that pacing across Tony's billiard room was the best use of his time, considering he felt like he would crawl out his own skin if he sat for one minute longer. Even Jane couldn't take his anxiety, as she busied herself with Stark and Banner. If he wore down a crevice in the wood, Stark would have to forgive him.

"Thor," he heard his brother say behind him. He quickly turned to Loki, anticipating what his news might be. "Darcy has awoken."

"How is she?" he asked.

"Well, right this moment? She is trying to stab me with a piece of ice." Thor blinked, suddenly realizing that he was speaking to a double. He immediately headed for the stairs before Loki's doppelganger held his hands up. "Don't worry, I've got her for the moment," he insisted. "I was ready for her this time. You all will only make it more difficult to try to get anything out of her." Thor still looked nervously toward the ceiling, then back at his brother.

"We have heard nothing up there," he said.

"No, I made sure of that," Loki said.

"There has been no improvement?"

"She was talking," Loki said. "She still is, but she is still very interested in ending our lives."

"How?" Thor asked. "Darcy would never..." he stopped, gritting his teeth. "I don't understand how Shaw is doing this."

"Mind manipulation is quite easy, if one knows what he's doing. He most certainly knew what he was doing with her." Loki's double also gave an uncomfortable look toward the ceiling above which Darcy's temporary room was. "But so do I."

"What should we do?" Thor asked.

"Explain the situation to the others while I try to talk to her," he replied. "For right now, no matter what, we'll continue to treat her as dangerous. Get Jane out of here. Pepper too."

* * *

Loki watched as his magic slowly wrapped itself around Darcy's arms, forcing her to stay pinned to the ground. She scowled when she realized she couldn't move, but her expression slowly turned into a smirk that almost made him uncomfortable.

"Well," she said. "_This_ is one we've never tried before." Loki squeezed his eyes shut and ground his teeth together. He could handle her trying to kill him. He could handle her teasing him. The two of them together was throwing him a bit off.

"You know I'm always willing to try new things," he replied, regaining his composure. "Adds a bit of a thrill we can all remember fondly when you are back to your old self."

"My old self," she repeated. "I was just thinking you seemed to be taking this whole situation quite admirably."

" I'm the God of Mischief and Lies, love. You think I did not expect at least one attempt on my life in this relationship?" She narrowed her eyes at him, displeased at his continued lack of concern. "Now sending you back to kill me," he said, thoughtfully, running a finger across the right side of her jaw. He felt it clench at his touch. "No wonder it was so easy to find you. He has a certain amount of...poetry, I'll give him that. What are you? Some kind of clone?" She chuckled wickedly at that, still unable to move from his restraints.

"It would make it easier wouldn't it?" she said, a hateful bite in her voice. "Sorry to break it you, _my_ _prince_. Just me now." He hadn't bound her legs to the floor, allowing her to bring her foot up, hooking her ankle around his neck and pull him back to the ground. She struggled to break her ethereal bonds, but only succeeded in getting her legs bound as well when he recovered. She watched as her arms moved of their own accord to go from being pinned down next to her head to being bound to the side of her body. She struggled against them as he picked himself up, then leaned down to scoop her up as well, her entire body bound with magical energy, as he tossed her down on the bed.

"There. perhaps you'll be more reasonable if you are comfortable," he said. Darcy lay perfectly still, her struggling against the magic ceasing. In spite of his nonchalant attitude, every word she said bit at new places in his heart. Her face -however changed, her hair, her body, her voice, her memories, her _words_. He couldn't deny it was her. Everything about her stung, every word finding their mark in trying to hurt him. He refused to allow her to see it. It wouldn't matter to this Darcy, and it would destroy the real one later.

"There now. Much better," he said, looking her over. "I can see my attempts to be the understanding lover are not working. Perhaps we should try a change of pace. It appears we have a situation on our hands." Darcy stared at him, her expression empty once again as she stared cooly at him, only wincing as she felt the bonds tighten uncomfortably around her. "I'm afraid your seeming dedication to kill me is interfering with the other plans I had for our reunion." He began making a list with his fingers. "Namely, comforting you, should you require it, having my way with you and letting you do the same, should you be up for it, and hunting down Shaw to give him a slow and agonizingly painful death. Sadly, you seem to desire neither comfort nor physical distraction, leaving me with the third of my objectives. Now. Why don't you be a good little girl and tell me where he is?" Silence permeated the room as he watched her body slow down in breathing, struggling against her restraints. In spite of the fact that he wanted her to be a _little_ uncomfortable, he loosened the hold he had on her, letting her breathe more easily. "If you are really Darcy, how did he do this to you?" Nothing. "Do you have some kind of loyalty now to the man who kidnapped you? Honestly, darling, I thought there was only room for one villain in your life."

"No!" she spat. Loki raised his chin in interest, lips slightly parted, realizing he had struck a nerve.

"No to the loyalty, or no to the lack of room?" he asked casually. Long moments went by as she lay deathly still, every muscle in her body balled with tension. "What is it you are fighting, Darcy?" He suddenly asked slowing walking around the bed. "Have you truly managed to grown to hate me in so short a time? Can you recall the exact moment you decided we should all die?" Silence again. "Come now, you were certainly talkative mere moments ago."

"I've already told you," she said, her voice emotionless again, resuming her struggle against her restraints. "There is no choice or decision. We do what we were made to do."

"And you think you were made to kill me?" Loki questioned, his words purposefully placed to pick at whatever stitching Shaw had done to her mind. "A mere three weeks ago you were our friend, without a violent thought in your pretty little head. Do you not recall, perhaps?"

"That girl is gone," Darcy said breathlessly as she managed to sit upright. He allowed it. "I would get used to it if I were you."

"Where has she gone then?" he questioned. "I would like her back." She scoffed, a cold laugh escaping her.

"That makes one of us," she said. "Made the whole mental torture thing easier. Less crying and whining and begging. Pathetic really." Loki steeled himself to not react to her words. Whether she was being genuine or trying to taunt him, he could not tell. "Come on, now. You won't miss her after a while. You've been on her little leash so long, you've forgotten what real fun is."

"So says the girl who tried plunging a shard of ice into my chest mere moments ago," he retorted, sitting down on the the foot of the bed, sending another wave of healing magic down to his forearms. "You speak of her as if she is a different person now? Are you not the real Darcy anymore?"

"A courtesy," she said lightly. "You should be grateful. Also saves me from the trouble of the arguing." Her voice deepened exaggeratedly to mimic what sounded like Thor. "No, no, Darcy is our friend. She would never try to blah blah blah." Her voice returned to her own at the blah blahs.

"And who does that make you then?"

"I don't know," she said frowning. "I guess I'm what left when you take away a soul and throw in blind hatred mixed with a whole lot of ways to kill people," she replied casually, examining the magic holding her, clearly trying to find a way out from it. "Who knows. Do I look like an existentialist to you? We're just cells made to do what we're told, aren't we? What is it?" She looked to the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment. "We crave subjugation!" she said excitedly, as if figuring out a puzzle. "Pretty sure that's what you told me as I happily helped you try to enslave the world. Did you think it couldn't be done again? Now are you going to let me go? I can't feel my legs anymore." He looked at her, his face lacking any expression.

"Are you going to be good?" he questioned.

"No," she said matter-of-factly. "But I won't try to kill you again." He looked at her, his eyes a little sad as she stared arrogantly back at him. She slowly felt the hold on her diminish and breathed a heavy sigh of relief, rubbing her arms where it felt like there had been rope. She almost pouted as she looked at them. "Besides, it's not like killing you would really accomplish much, now that I think about it," she continued thoughtfully. "I was made to torture you, after all. Let's face it, chances are, no one would miss you very much." He stiffened involuntarily, and regretted it immediately. He could feel her eyes watching him -gauging him- as she hopped off the bed and grabbing a hair tie from her mess of belongings on the floor. "But that doesn't bother _you_ does it? I guess Thor would probably be upset. But he has his little queen-to-be now, so I'm sure he'd get over it quickly enough." He watched as she ran her fingers through her hair in the mirror of the dresser, tightly plaiting her hair. She gasped slightly when he whipped her around, gripping her shoulders tightly as she continued to tie off her hair in braid, unconcerned with his apparent discontent.

"There was still part of you there," he said thoughtfully. "Parts I couldn't take."

"You certainly tried, though, didn't you? Science is always a bit more thorough than magic, however. I doubt a bump on the head is going to make it all better." She lifted her hands and brought them roughly down on the crook of his elbows to break his hold. Glaring at him briefly, she returned to examine the mess of her stuff on the floor, picking up her small makeup bag. "Wow, you thought of everything didn't you? How nice of you," she said as she walked over to dresser, applying a dark lip coloring over her blue complexion, almost completely uncaring of his presence. It reminded him of the time in the locker room of SHIELD when she stood completing the same movements. The first time he had kissed her.

"If you have no loyalty to Shaw, then why not tell us where he is." She looked at him in the mirror as she pressed her lips together to smooth out her lip color, a fine brow arching as she pulled away from it.

"The last time I saw Shaw, I was running like hell away from him," she said, pulling out an eyeliner from her bag, "and if I were you, I'd be doing the same." He watched as she darkened the lids of her eyes, slightly darker than normal. It was as if she was defying everything about herself. Or the real Darcy. He wanted to growl in frustration, but remained impassive.

"You don't know where he is located, then, here in Midgard?" She laughed dryly, turning around to lean against the dresser.

"Sure," she said cheerily. "We talked about it over tea and crumpets in between the whole torture and gene therapy thing. Told me _all_ that." The sarcastic wit he had grown to admire was beginning to grate on his nerves.

"Where were you, then?" he continued.

"I don't know," she said defensively, shrugging a shoulder. "Some cave in Jotunheim, I'm guessing. From what I remember, there's probably a pretty prominent path to where I was. You are welcome to go back and check, I'm sure." She smirked a little at that. "But he's probably gone by now. He didn't exactly try to stop me from running away."

"And what is it that makes you fear him so?"

"As much as I _love_ talking about this, I'm finding myself a little hungry," she said, walking towards the door. "Getting fed through a tube only goes so far you know?" As Darcy turned to the door, she found Loki standing between her and it, looking very seriously at her. She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and popping a hip out defiantly. "Yes?"

"I thought I would warn you, before you try to do something foolish," he said lowly. "You are in a house full of very dangerous individuals, most of them still more dangerous than you. I would refrain from any violent outbursts, or you might get hurt." An impish grin slowly spread across her face at his words.

"Oh, he was counting on it," she said, brushing past him.


	31. Chapter 31

**CHAPTER 31**

A single tear slid down the queen's cheek as her elegant fingers drifted along the edges of the Tesseract, her short nails scraping against the sides. She hated the thing. It seemed to have brought nothing but destruction and pain to her family since its discovery. First Loki was seduced by its power. Then both of her sons' women were attacked by an evil man in a scheme to attain it, or so they had guessed. It was inevitable that so much power would start wars, even between worlds; but understanding this rarely brought comfort, even for a being worshipped as a goddess.

The one thing she did gain by hiding away in the depths of the vault with the Tesseract was the connection, however faint and indirect, it gave her to the object of her younger son's affection. Frigga could feel fear radiating from the trembling Darcy Lewis as her fragile mind clung desperately to the Scepter that she kept secret, even from her own body. The Queen of Asgard had seen many strange things in her life, but a young mortal hiding in her own mind with a relic of terrible power that she had to bestow upon the exiled prince of Asgard as her testing to become an Aesir? The universe, even after millennia, still managed to surprise her. The fact that Darcy's constant contact with the Scepter kept her equally connected with the Tesseract, imprinting the thing with the knowledge of everything she had experienced since her kidnapping, was both a source of relief and distress for Frigga. Simply touching the Cube made reading the girl's mind as easy as reading a book. It was useful for knowing what was happening in her mind, which was as much a burden as it was an aid. Some part of her wished she could remain ignorant of what had happened.

"How is she?" the queen heard behind her, her husband's voice echoing off of the walls of the vault.

"Frightened," Frigga answered. "Confused. Alone. And yet, full of hate and anger with no source to be found." Odin slowly descended the stairs into the vault as his wife released her hold on the Tesseract and turned to meet his eyes as she approached him. "There is some kind of corruption in her mind. Some sort of Midgardian sorcery, I have never seen its like before. She hides away while it makes her body try to kill them." Odin nodded.

"It takes great discipline to do what she has done," he admitted. "Despite whatever this Shaw has done to her, she has kept the Scepter safe from him, and now even from herself. I did not think it was possible for a mortal to split her mind in such a way, but she has. She learned to use the power and knowledge at her disposal to do so. And she has demonstrated patience. I half expected her to give Loki the Scepter when he declared his love for her. Still, she waited. All crucial qualities meant to be demonstrated by a potential Aesir."

"How can she continue to do this?" Frigga asked, another tear slipping from her eye. "I can feel her struggle every second as she tries to hold fast to her true self. I do not know how much longer she can hold to it. If she slips for even a moment, if whatever is controlling her mind now finds out about what is hiding inside of her, her testing is forfeit. It is unfair. This wasn't a part of it."

"And what would you have me do?" Odin asked gently.

"Suspend her test. Remove the Scepter from her until she is herself again. The risk is too high with the way things are."

"The risks will always be too high, my dear," Odin said gravely, his voice still gentle, but now more resolute. Frigga stiffened and her chin lifted, as if preparing for the worst. "If she is to become one us, if Loki means to make her part of this family, and if she is to be part of Thor's court when he is king, fairness will not be a prerequisite for her. What if I _was_ to remove the Scepter from her mind? Is that not one thing that has helped keep her from completely losing herself to this man's sorcery? Duty can be as much a salvation as it can be a burden. She has given up everything to fulfill her responsibility, and you ask me to take that away from her? She has shown incredible strength of spirit and mind through this, and I will not be the one to rob her of the chance to survive this on her own." Frigga's expression slowly shifted, the stiff defiance softening into a sudden understanding. She turned away from him slightly, casting her eyes back to the Tesseract, her fingers fidgeting nervously.

"You like her," Frigga ventured. She allowed her husband several long moments of silence to choose his words.

"I have grown to admire her, yes," he admitted. "I had my reservations at first, of course, on whether she was a wise choice for Loki since she is so young, or whether their attachment was genuine or just another game of his. I can see now why he could be drawn to her, and now I find myself...hopeful...that she will pass. If she does, I think Loki will be all the more sure of his true feelings for her, after standing by her through all of this. For these reasons I will not interfere, but will allow her test to continue. I would advise that you do not interfere either." Frigga nodded slowly, a final tear slipping down her cheek as her eyes drifted shut. She felt his arm circle around her and she rested her forehead on his shoulder, trying to let herself be comforted by the confidence he seemed to have in his decision.

"I am scared for them," she said shakily. "Whatever that man has done to her has made her...so very unpredictable, on the outside."

"I know. While I will not halt her test, that does not mean I will not do everything I can to aid them in her restoration and in the fight against this enemy. Heimdall has told me Thor has called. He will be arriving soon...with Jane." Frigga brought her head up to meet his eyes again. "Thor, no doubt, wishes to discuss what help we can offer, and I doubt he would want Jane out of his sight after what has happened."

"Poor Jane," Frigga said. "I wish that we could meet her under more pleasant circumstances."

"From Thor's description of her, she will understand the gravity of the situation, I am sure," Odin assured her.

"Have you given any thought to_ her_ testing?"

"I have thought on it, yes. But Thor has yet to confirm his intention to marry her. I'm afraid his position requires a great deal more of formality."

"I doubt he would bring her here if it was not his intention, but you are correct," she said, walking to the exit of the vault.

"You may discuss with him all that you have been able to gather from your study of the Tesseract," Odin replied, following at her side. "I'm sure that they could use your direction."

"Loki would be able to make far more use of it than me," Frigga said. "Whatever is corrupting her mind, I cannot discern what it is." Odin looked at her thoughtfully as the guards opened the the vault doors for them.

"Soon," he said.

* * *

"No!" Jane said stubbornly, tightening a bolt on what looked like a bunch of scrap metal screwed together. "I'm staying."

"Jane, it's not safe here!" Thor almost boomed, unused to raising his voice in her company. Jane remained unfazed by his loud tone, hearing him use it often enough with just about everyone else in their circle of acquaintance. "You must come with me. You will be safe at my side."

"Darcy would never leave me if I needed her," she insisted, attempting to keep her attention on the device she had started making to ease her nerves. Stark and Banner had already vacated the place to help keep an eye on Darcy, leaving Jane and Thor to argue in peace. Tony, of course, had wanted to stay and listen, but was pulled along by Banner out of the shop. "If it wasn't for her, Shaw might have performed his genetic experiments on me too! I'll just drive myself crazy if I have to hide out in some other realm where I won't be able to help at all."

"And what are you planning on doing here?" Thor demanded. "We all care about Darcy, Jane, but she is _dangerous_ now. Shaw has somehow made her bent on hurting all of us, and you are the most vulnerable. I can't protect you-"

"The most _useless_, you mean," she spat. "Maybe I don't need you to protect me all the time. Just because I can't crush a bowling ball with my eyelids doesn't mean I'm helpless." She seemed to press what served as an "on" switch to her device and a clicking started. Thor, frowned at it.

"What is that?" he questioned, their argument momentarily forgotten.

"It's a frequency detector. Tony bet me I couldn't build one in less than three hours. He owes me five thousand dollars now, minus the materials I used," she said, placing her hands on her hips breathing heavily, tossing her head to the side to get hair out of her face. Thor stared at her blankly. "What?" she said defensively. "I've been going crazy down here. I feel like a coward hiding down here while everyone else is-"

"Trying to help Darcy," Thor finished gently. "We are _all_ here to help her; you aren't abandoning her. Darcy knows how much you care about her, but she is not herself. Loki told me she tried to stab him, Jane. She tried to _kill_ Loki, unsuccessful though she was, and you know better than anyone what Darcy feels for him." Something that suspiciously resembled a pout came over the physicist's face as she tested her new device again, trying to keep attention on anything else other than her fiancee's pleading. "She is dangerous. We still don't know exactly what Shaw has done to her, nor how to get her back, yet. How do you think Darcy would feel if she hurt you while she was like this? She would never forgive herself, and I won't allow that to happen to either of you." Her pained expression nearly broke his heart as she fought back tears, taking comfort as he wrapped his large arms around her, resting his hands on her back. "She is not the only one who needs you Jane."

"You never need anything," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. Thor smiled faintly.

"For once in your life, Jane Foster, your are incorrect about that," he answered back. "Come with me. I must ask my father for aid, should Shaw be preparing some sort of attack on this realm. I have a feeling this is all to distract us from something bigger. If Loki has read correctly, and he always does, we might be able to get Mammoth to give Shaw up, if he feels he has an ally in us. My brother is banished from Asgard, and cannot follow me. You cannot expect me to do without both of you, can you? I might break from the pressure." Jane laughed weakly into his shoulder, as he had hoped, pulling back to focus her warm brown eyes on him while he gently brushed her hair out of her face. "You'll come with me?" he finally asked again. She nodded, letting her eyes drift closed for several long moments. He placed a gentle kiss to her mouth before pulling her close to him once again, allowing her to hug him as tightly as she could.

"Darcy's the normal one," Jane said after a few moments. "You all are the weird ones. She is supposed to be down-to-earth. That's her thing."

"Considering she is consort to the God of Mischief and Lies, and is employed by the Iron Man, I would say being grounded is a necessary strength of hers, to keep those boys in line," Thor said fondly. "It is time for _us_ to step up to bring her back to reality this time."

* * *

Loki and Tony watched from a darkened hallway as Darcy chewed happily on a sandwich the size of her head as she sat cross-legged upon the counter in Stark's kitchen.

"We're just going to let her walk around, then?" Stark whispered lowly. "We got the cage ready." Loki tossed him a look.

"We can learn more about what's causing her to behave this way if we leave her to her own devices for a bit," he replied evenly, "at least until that becomes impossible. The more we can learn about her condition, the more quickly we can undo it."

"You really think that is a possibility?" Stark asked. "Going insane isn't usually reversible, is it?"

"She is not insane," Loki said, keeping his eyes on Darcy as she looked around warily as she ate. "Unstable, perhaps, but not insane."

"You don't think trying to kill you is insane?"

"I tried killing all of you, and I knew perfectly well what I was doing," he countered easily. Tony straightened, throwing a few annoyed glances at Loki while trying to keep his eyes on Darcy.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Tony asked. "At least mental disturbance is covered by her insurance."

"It should make you feel better. There is something else at work here. I do not think he could have so thoroughly altered her behavior in so short a time by conventional means. This kind of transformation without some sort of aid would take months, if not longer."

"What do you mean 'something else?' I've seen _The Exorcism_. Not cool."

"Agreed," Loki said, not sure if he was happy that he actually got the reference. "I do not think she is possessed. Perhaps enchanted or some Midgardian equivalent."

"She's leaving the kitchen," Tony pointed out.

"I have several duplicates throughout this house. I know she is leaving, fool."

"Then why are you standing here hiding in this hallway?"

"A better question I have never heard asked," he retorted. "I suppose I feel Darcy would want us to get along, but that reasoning is beginning to lose its appeal. She's headed to your art gallery."

"Romanov said she would be keeping post there," Stark said.

"Good," Loki replied. "This should be interesting."

* * *

It wasn't by accident she was hiding out alone in the quiet and cold display room. Natasha had remained relatively detached since the Avengers had reunited.

The rift between them was undeniable. Banner, Stark, Thor, and Loki had certainly seemed to develop their own little group, which was bizarre enough on its own. She didn't feel unwelcome in California, but the separation of her and Barton seemed to stretch as widely as the canyons of the frozen planet they had just visited. Going to Jotunheim had almost been a relief, as they only seemed to work fluidly together when their lives were in danger. It was a strange revelation to understand that the only thing they all really had in common was saving the world.

Of all of the things that had surprised Romanov upon their reunion, what struck her the most had been the change in Loki. It was nothing overt, he still seemed arrogant and dangerous in his manner toward them all, but the person he had seemed to condescend to the least, if at all, was Jane, and Natasha wasn't exactly sure why. His relationship with Thor seemed so changed, she couldn't believe that it was genuine. The ease at which they seemed to interact with each other was not what she would have ever expected. That was nothing to say of the complete turnabout in him she had observed when they had found Darcy and brought her home. Romanov knew Loki cared about Darcy in his own way, but she had always imagined it was the way one would view a pet, regardless of Darcy's feeling for him. Natasha had thought that it was a matter of protecting and keeping something Loki imagined was his, and considering he had at one point -and probably still- deemed them an inferior species, it wasn't much of a stretch.

But now, that 'pet' had ice claws several inches long and incredible speed, and not to mention a few aesthetic similarities to Loki's true parentage which she had heard he found distasteful. (The fact that Loki was actually a Frost Giant didn't seem to affect the Midgardians very much. Aliens were aliens.) Still, he had gingerly cradled her as she lay unconscious from Barton's arrows, seeming ready to strike at anything that would do her harm, including the SHIELD side of the Avengers. Romanov had not enjoyed the dark expression on his face she had seen from the next room when Fury had suggested Darcy be taken into their custody, nor was she entirely sure she wanted to try to take her, if Fury had persisted. Rogers' interjection had come as a welcome relief.

The Black Widow had a clear view of Darcy walking into Stark's modest art gallery from her natural position in the shadows. Very little got to the assassin, but seeing the girl she had come to call her friend so far removed from who she was before her kidnapping was as close to heartbreaking as anything could get for Romanov. She watched as Darcy curiously looked around at her surroundings, an almost lost expression on the girl's face. Her blue and red eyes closed slowly, her chin lifting up slightly, chest rising with a deep intake of breath.

"You don't have to blame yourself, you know," Darcy said. Natasha took a sharp breath of her own, not anticipating being noticed.

"What is it I'm not to blame myself for?" the assassin replied, quietly stepping out of the shadowed corner. Darcy turned to her, her normally sweet face marred with a malicious smirk.

"Me ending up like you," she said simply, slowly approaching. Natasha quickly identified her potential exits. She had seen the blue-Darcy fight. She was strong enough to give Thor trouble and fast. The only possible way she could take her on was by deadly force, and she did not think that was wise or desirable. Loki was _supposed_ to be watching her.

"A couple bad weeks, and you think you're like me?" Natasha asked, keeping her voice cool and flippant. "You've got a lot to learn, little girl." She was hoping for an indignant anger to throw the twisted version of her friend off-balance long enough to escape. Instead she got a widening smile that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention.

"You know, it's almost creepy how alike you two are," she replied, crossing her arms casually as she seemed to eye the various modern paintings. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised I befriended you while I was trying to figure him out."

"I'm going to take a guess that you aren't talking about Rogers," Romanov replied, trying to slyly edge to the door.

"Couldn't mistake you for him now could we?" she said. "Loki, I mean, not that you didn't already know who I was talking about. Both of you are always so _sneaky_." She turned her eyes from the walls and back onto Natasha, slowly approaching. Romanov remained perfectly still, muscles taut, ready to move at the first opening. "Always so calm and collected. Always _lying_. Pretending that seeing me like this doesn't bother you when I know it's tearing you up inside." The Widow lifted her chin defensively.

"I get it now, though," she continued casually. "You all are the heroes. You always have to put on a brave face, and you all have your part. Captain America himself is at the head to lead you. You've got the brains, the mercenaries, the muscle. You had Coulson, the fallen comrade who drew everyone together with his death. Now you even have a bona fide reformed villain to add to the mix. And there I was..." she trailed off thoughtfully. "Caught up in all of it by accident with no real place in the grand scheme of things. Just the comic relief. The one nothing bad was supposed to happen to. The one that was supposed to make everything feel normal when enough people had died." She paused, her eyes returning back to Romanov, walking toward her again. "But you couldn't even save me. And it's killing all of you." It felt like a blade slid into her chest as Darcy's words found their exact mark. Natasha, fortunately, did not have time react before heavy footsteps behind Darcy drew their attention.

"That's close enough," Rogers said, approaching the both of them.

"Steve!" Darcy greeted pleasantly. He had his jumpsuit on and shield at the ready, but his face was not covered by his mask. "We were _just_ talking about you."

"Miss Lewis, please step away from her." Darcy almost pouted.

"_Miss Lewis_?" she repeated with emphasis. "A little formal for us, don't you think?" Natasha looked a little worried at the implication as she glanced towards Rogers, unsure of what to make of his uncomfortable shifting. "The last time I saw you, you were asking me to ride off into the sunset on your motorcycle. Now you're last naming me?" Well _that_ would explain a lot, Natasha thought to herself. Darcy had never said anything to her about this, but she imagined it wouldn't be something she would want to broadcast, especially since Loki is not exactly known for his forgiving personality. Unfortunately it provided psycho-Darcy with just enough ammunition to stir up a whole lot of trouble. If Loki found out, or already knew, there could be complications.

"_Darcy_," he corrected, keeping his eyes on Natasha. "Please let her pass. You are authorized to walk about freely as long as you do not hurt anyone, including yourself." Darcy looked back to Natasha, who was working her way past her toward Rogers, and the exit.

"I was just talking to my friend," she said matter-of-factly. "Is that hurting anyone?" Romanov couldn't help giving an affirmative answer mentally as she left the room, trying to keep her composure as she went to find one of the others. Darcy smiled again. "You weren't just trying to get me alone again, were you?" In spite of himself, Rogers blushed.

* * *

"You made your feelings very clear before you left," Steve said. "I told you I would respect that, even if I thought you were going to get hurt." He gripped his shield tightly as she slowly came closer to him.

"I guess you dodged quite the bullet, then," she said. "I doubt this does anything for you any more," she said, gesturing towards her face. Steve found himself looking at his boots for a moment, a pained expression on his face when he looked back up at her. "You told me before I moved out here that I was the most beautiful woman you had ever met. I guess everything changes eventually."

"You're still-" He faltered, his eyes finding the floor again as she tilted her head to the side.

"What?"

"You're still beautiful Darcy," he dared, cheeks continuing to color. "But you're very sick. We just want to help you." The smile on her face was cruel and distant, and he suddenly felt foolish trying to reassure her.

"I'm glad you think so," she said more softly, her demeanor suddenly changing, and it made him uncomfortable that he couldn't read her game. "Loki hates frost giants. That's why they did this, you know? So he would leave the one thing they thought was keeping him here among powerful allies." Steve's discomfort intensified as she drew closer, the thought of both the ice claws he had seen form over her fingers and how nice she smelled ran simultaneously through his mind.

"I don't see why anyone would leave you," he said, gripping his shield until he felt like his hands were numb. "We just need get you back to-"

"What?" she demanded harshly. "To poor, weak, pathetic Darcy? You of all people should know how I feel." He straightened up to his full height, sure he would not like what she was about to say. "You're afraid of me. Last month you could have probably killed me with your pinky if you wanted to. Don't you remember what that feels like? To go from being ordinary to someone special?"

"You were already special," he said, swallowing tightly. She smiled with what looked to be a genuine smile. Rogers' heart fluttered a bit, wondering if maybe he was getting through to her. He had no time to react as the ice claws that had been so prevalently on his mind moments prior came at him from the side, her face shifting into a vicious snarl. He was pretty sure they were going to be scrambling his brains until he blinked, and Loki was suddenly pulling her away from him, tossing her none-too-gently across the room. She wasted no time in bouncing off the wall, launching another assault at Loki, swiping at him with her claws. Quick as Loki was, he had to struggle to stay out of the way. Rogers watched in a mixture of horror and disbelief as a long spear of ice formed in her hand and she threw it at Loki, frustrated.

Steve, finally recovering from the shock, threw his shield and shattered the spear as Loki teleported behind her and wrapped his full arm around her neck, holding firmly, but not obstructing her breathing. He placed a hand on the side of her face, pressing his lips together in resignation as Darcy slowly stopped struggling, eyes drifting shut. Steve watched as the green-clad demi-god slowly laid her down on the floor with a soft thud, and without missing a beat strode over to him, grasping his neck tightly. Captain America choked a bit just before he felt himself flying across the room and into a painting he really hoped Stark billed Loki for. The crack in the wall was substantial as he felt himself crash to the floor, bits of canvas and frame crashing on top of him.

When he managed to uncurl himself from under the painting, he found himself staring directly up at the dangerously calm God of Mischief.

"It would have given me no small amount of pleasure to allow her to tear that face of yours off," he said casually, as if he were giving decorating tips. "The reason I stopped her was to preserve her from the inevitable guilt that would follow once she is restored. I, however, suffer from no such quandaries. Look at her like that again, and I'll rip your eyes from your skull." Steve tried to catch his breath as he watched Loki sling Darcy over his shoulder, teleporting away into nothingness. Left alone, he looked around awkwardly at the mess that had been made.

_Well,_ Steve thought, _at least that was out of his system_. _ It had been a long time coming._


	32. Chapter 32

**CHAPTER 32**

"I think she's going to get tired of waking up after being knocked unconscious," Banner said. He, along with the rest of the Avengers, watched as Darcy lay curled up on the floor of the cage he and Stark had built, while Jane stood curiously off to the side.

"She tried clawing the Cap's rosy cheeks right off and threw him through a wall," Stark said. The assumption on his part that it had been _Darcy _that had thrown the Captain did not go corrected by Loki _or_ Rogers, who nursed a swelling lip with some ice. "And she managed to give Romanov the creeps. _Romanov_. We can't let her roam free anymore. The only thing we've discovered so far is that she is trying to wreck our shit as hard as possible." Loki kept his eyes on his unconscious girlfriend as he listened to them rail on.

"Did one of you hit her on the back of the head?" Barton asked.

"No," Loki said, turning his attention the archer.

"She has a wound," the archer replied. "The back of her head is bleeding."

"She had some fresh stitches on the back of her head when we checked her out," Banner said. "She must have sustained an injury during her kidnapping, but they looked professionally done, and I made sure they were clean. One might have ripped."

"Wait a minute," Barton said. "We're trying to figure out why Darcy is acting like she has the world's worst case of PTSD, and we have paid no attention to a neat set of stitches on the back of her _head_?"

Loki frowned to himself.

Stark appeared as if he had a smart comment, but paused.

Banner froze in place.

Natasha looked at Barton.

Thor looked at Jane.

Steve looked up from his repentant posture across the room.

Almost simultaneously, every head turned back to the small figure curled up in the bottom of the cage as they all approached the bars.

"Well, now that you put it that way," Banner said, a little sheepishly, as the eight of them lined up to stare at her through the bars of the cage.

"What do you think?" Stark asked after a minute. "Lobotomy?"

"She's not _lobotomized_, Tony," Jane said, rolling her eyes.

"Loki, will she wake up any time soon?" Banner asked, walking over to his work station.

"She should have another hour or so," Loki replied. "I can extend it if necessary." Bruce nodded thoughtfully as he grabbed a rubber glove from his desk, stretching it over his hand.

"JARVIS, unlock the door, please."

"Of course," JARVIS replied. "Do be careful, sir. She was a bit cranky when she woke this morning." The sound of metal sliding against metal echoed in the shop as the bolt opened up.

"Yeah, I thought she was bad without coffee," Jane commented as every set of eyes watched as Bruce walked into the cage, closing the door behind him.

"Be careful, Banner," Thor offered.

"Considering he's the one that almost got her to piss herself in Jotunheim, I think he'll be okay," Tony said. Banner rolled his eyes as he carefully bent over Darcy and felt the back of her head, carefully minding the bleeding set of stitches. Loki shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what exactly they thought the wound was. He teleported into the cell, intently watching Banner. The scientist didn't seem to mind Loki's scrutiny as he rolled Darcy on her stomach, inspecting the wound more closely, pressing his fingers to the back of her skull.

"There is something under the skin," he said. "It's got a rough texture, I can feel it." He turned back to the crowd watching him. "Stark, you've got an x-ray machine at Stark Industries, right?"

"In R&D, yeah," he said.

"There's definitely something there. It feels like it might be metal so we can't do an MRI. I think x-raying it first might be the best bet."

"SHIELD has plenty of doctors on staff," Natasha said. "I think they'd be more equipped to go messing around in her head than any of us."

"She's right," Banner agreed before Stark or Loki could object.

"We'll get a few in here," Tony said. "We can't take her to a hospital. We don't know how hostile she'd be against civilians. We can't take her to SHIELD, either."

"I'll report to Fury. We can have specialists here in a few hours," Romanov replied.

"Loki, is there any adverse effect to you keeping her asleep?" Banner asked. "It might be better to just keep her from hurting anyone or getting hurt while we figure out what the foreign object is. At last we finally have a lead." Loki nodded.

"It will not hurt her," Loki said. "I will stay here while you make arrangements."

* * *

"_They've found something," the Loki-imprint said. "They've found whatever Victor Shaw put in that pretty little head of yours." Darcy looked up from her position on the floor, her arms and legs curled around the scepter, and a small book clutched in her hands._

"_Like it will do them any good," she said. "_I_ don't even know what that thing is."_

"_Even I have never seen anything like it, to be sure," he replied. "And there is nothing in here about it." He symbolically kicked an open book away in the wreckage of the white room of Darcy's mind. "It is fortunate Shaw has never come into contact with the Tesseract. Sadly, though, we also cannot learn anything about him or the technology he has." He turned to find her still curled up on the floor, the small book she held in her hands opened as she glanced over the pages in it. "Anyway. Your little heroes might be yet successful in removing...what did you call her?"_

"_Psycho-bitch?" Darcy offered, concentrating on her book. "Going to have severe damage control to do when I get out of here. She, or I -whatever- have been using every memory at my disposal to hurt everyone I love out there."_

"_What are you reading?" he asked. Darcy looked up bashfully._

"_Nothing," she said, closing her book. Loki smirked as he looked her over._

"_I am part of your mind. Why do you have me ask you questions when I already know the answer? Does it comfort you in some way?" Darcy didn't meet his eyes, looking back down at the purple volume in her hands._

"_It's about a woman." she said. "Frigga." Loki looked at her thoughtfully, walking closer to her, waiting for her to continue. She clutched the book to her chest along with the spear from her hiding spot on the floor. "It gets longer every day. She must be near the Tesseract."_

"_The Queen of Asgard," Loki said. "My mother." Darcy nodded. _

"_I can feel her, somehow," Darcy said quietly. "It's almost like she is talking to me. Telling me that it will be okay. To stay strong and that it will all be over soon. I can read it in here." She looked to the book in her hands. "I recognize her, too. I met her once when she came to earth. She found me in the bathroom at the dance club when we went out." Darcy paused. "I think she is the most beautiful person I've ever met." She looked up at the Loki imprint, who had a strange, faraway look. "What is it?" she asked._

"_I never thought of her," he replied. "The entire time I tried taking over your world, I did not think of her. Not until you almost-" he stopped, turning his eyes to her. "I remembered when a Frost Giant _I_ had allowed into Asgard struck her on the night I tried to destroy Jotunheim. I remember thinking I would never forgive myself if anything had happened to her, especially if it was because of something _I_ had done. When you jumped in front of my spear-" He stopped abruptly. Darcy looked at him cautiously, knowing this was the true imprint of Loki talking, not her, revealing his memories plainly. She almost felt as if she were violating his privacy. "I felt the same way in the moment I thought I had killed you as when I feared I had almost gotten my mother hurt."_

"_You never told me that," she said. "Outside of here."_

"_I wouldn't, I suppose," he said, his eyes fixed on the wreckage of their chess table. "She was the only one to ever love me fairly. Impartially. Equally with Thor. No matter how much I hated my brother and my father, I could never hate her. You reminded me of her, even if I did not understand at the time. You were always so eager to see me happy. So truly elated when I was pleased with you. Even if it was false it was...nice, for a time." Darcy sat up, fingers clutching the scepter as she listened. "Your attraction to me was flattering as well." Darcy blushed, knowing it was stupid since she was hiding in her own mind._

"_And that's why you let me go?" she asked. "Why you saved my life?"_

"_I believe I wished to know if what we had would still be there when you were no longer under the power of the Tesseract. I wanted to hate you for making me want your true friendship after I had assured myself that you were beneath me, for making me hope for something I had long since considered lost: but I could not." His eyes glittered with some emotion Darcy couldn't quite understand as he returned his gaze to her. _

"_What were you hoping for?" she asked. He met her eyes, an uncharacteristically sad smile on his features._

"_Exactly what you accused me of that day you left me," he said. "To be accepted. Pathetic though it seems, it is all I've ever wanted." She again felt as if she were invading his privacy, but this new understanding she hadn't known she could gain was too tempting. The real Loki was rarely so willing, or even able, to voice his feelings so plainly. Even if this was him as he was just after he had saved her life, she felt like she could understand so much more about him. "Even when your mind was free, you tried to reach me," he continued. "You tried to tell me it wasn't too late for me. It made it even harder to turn you away. Truly, I will be curious to be 'updated' as you put it. To know how I feel about you now."_

"_You told me that you loved me," Darcy replied._

"_Have I ?" he said amused. "I lie about many things, love."_

"_You weren't lying," Darcy replied firmly. The Loki imprint shrugged happily._

"_Here I believed myself beyond the reach of compassion. It appears I was as susceptible to a pretty face as my brother was."_

"_If it makes you feel better, It took almost six months for you to crack," she said, curling up on the floor once again, feeling the exhaustion from trying to think on her own. She had to be careful, lest Psycho-bitch become aware of her stirring. "Thor took, like, a day."_

"_I suppose that it is some comfort that I was not swayed _so_ easily," he said. "How did it happen?" Darcy was back to wondering who she was really talking to. Whatever she said would not be relayed to Loki. In the end, it would really only be her own contemplation. She was _so_ ready to get out of her Tesseract ridden head. It was confusing._

"_Honestly, I think we were just too good in bed together, and you didn't want to give it up," she said dryly. The Loki-imprint smiled an _evil _smile, as if pleased that he had accomplished the task of seducing her. She gave an abrupt scream when the room shook, some of the roof falling to the ground. She clutched around the scepter, squeezing her eyes together as tightly as she could._

_ "Darcy," Loki-imprint said. "Why don't you try leaving here?" She shook her head._

_ "I can't," she said. "If whatever is in my mind finds out about this, it's over. She'll have the scepter to hurt people, or Loki will take it too early and I fail."_

_ "What if I-" He paused. "What if he is ready?" Darcy stilled, trying to keep her eyes closed._

_ "I have no way of knowing," she said. "I can't take that chance."_

_ "If you try to stay here, your other self could get in and you will no longer have that chance anyway." She covered her face with her hand, hot tears streaming down her cheeks, freezing against her skin. "If you can give the scepter to Loki," he continued, "then he will be better able to help you. You won't have to worry about your other self using it."_

_ "I just-" She paused, raising herself tentatively up, scepter clutched tightly in her hand. "I just wish I knew if he was ready," she said._

_ "If it was _me_ out there," the imprint said, "I would be tearing apart Jotunheim for vengeance. I certainly would not have accepted Thor's help in retrieving you. I think I might even prefer you with a wild streak in you now." Darcy furrowed her eyebrows in disgust as he smirked at her. "There are many things that have changed. Step outside, and see if he is ready."_

_ "And if he's not?"_

_ "Than I suggest you make haste back here before whatever has a hold on your mind finds out what you've been hiding."_

* * *

"Loki."

The God of Mischief looked up at Thor and Jane from the quiet darkness of Stark's workshop, illuminated only by the light provided for Darcy's cell. Everyone had cleared out, resting until the SHIELD neurosurgeons could arrive. He held the unconscious Darcy on the hospital bed that had been put in her cage for when the doctors came. It saddened him that he could only relish the feel of her so close when she was unconscious, but he would take what he could get.

"Yes?" Loki replied.

"Jane and I must go to Asgard now," Thor replied, Mjolnir in one hand, Jane's hand in the other. "As much as I wish to stay and help Darcy, that is exactly what Shaw is counting on. We cannot give him the advantage."

"No, you are right," Loki said. "I understand you are attempting for a peaceful negotiation, but should some sort of unfortunate accident befall the self-proclaimed King of Jotunheim, I doubt anyone would miss him." Thor, in spite of himself, smiled a bit before straightening at Jane's arched brow.

"I'm afraid you are better with handling unfortunate accidents, brother. I shall have to rely on what I know until your return."

"Just say the word," he said, looking back down at the sleeping Darcy using his shoulder as a pillow. Thor, again, smirked.

"I shall return as soon as I am able." Loki nodded, turning his attention to Jane.

"Good luck, Miss Foster," he said. "My father's bark is usually worse than his bite... against non-enemies, anyway; and I am sure you will have an ally in my mother." Jane smiled quietly, her lips tightening in a strange emotion.

"Thanks, Loki," she said sincerely, eyes briefly falling on Darcy before meeting his again. "For everything." He nodded.

"Watch the Lady Sif. She's a mean one."

"What?"

"Well, we best be off then," Thor said quickly, disappearing into the darkness with Jane as they left the workshop. Silence seemed to coat the small, enclosed space where Loki held Darcy's small form to him, unaccustomed to the chill her body was emitting. He had become able to resist shifting into his Jotun form at her touch, but he still longed for the pleasant warmth she emitted before. Though if that was how she would be forever, then he assumed he would become accustomed to it soon enough.

He looked down, surprised to see her eyes fighting to open. He lifted his hand to her cheek to put her back to sleep when her small, partially blue hand gently tried to stop him.

"Not yet, please," she whispered. He froze, thrown by the softer, more familiar tone coming from her lips. She almost sounded...normal. If this was another game from her, it was her most cruel yet. Against his better judgement, he stayed his spell and set up a double behind her to watch for any movement, saying nothing as her eyes struggled to open again fully. "Loki?" she said.

"Dar-" He stopped himself, refusing to be lured in as his entire body went rigid, becoming a steel vice around her small form, preparing for an attack.

"I know this is weird, but I don't know how long I have," she whispered, eyes finally opening. "Y-you're letting Thor talk to Mammoth? Did I hear that right?"

"What?" he asked incredulously, leaning back, beginning to suspect, and hope, the charade was genuine. He saw her eyes roll momentarily as she shifted around a little bit.

"Thor. Big brother. God of Thunder," she said weakly. "Where is he going?"

"He goes to Asgard to ask Odin to offer a truce with Mammoth in order to capture Shaw," he said cautiously.

"And you are okay with that?" Loki clenched his jaw, reeling from the fact that Darcy was currently remaining so close to him while conscious. Darcy's voice edged on quiet desperation at his confused look. "Please, Loki, I don't know how long I can do this."

"It is what he wants, and I suppose I have to abide by it," he said quickly. He stared into her eyes, still trying to wrap his mind around the possibility that the real Darcy was talking to him. "What is all this about? How are you-" His words ceased as a warmth he had not seen since her disappearance flooded small tears into her eyes. Even her red eye seemed inviting. He felt her small, cold hand at his neck as she leaned up, pressing her mouth quickly to his. He suddenly did not care if this was some game of hers: if it was a lie he would enjoy it for as long as he could.

"You'll know in a minute," she said. "I can't wait any longer."

"Darcy what is this?" he said, placing a hand on her cheek. "Please, Darcy, don't go anywhere. Stay-"

"I had to know if you were ready," she interrupted as if he had said nothing. "If you want to go home, back to Asgard, you have to accept that you are not king. You must agree to obey your king." The words, despite his much improved relationship with his brother, left a nasty taste in his mouth even when he tried to repeat them in his mind. His dark brows came together in confusion, trying to digest what she was saying while struggling to accept that it wasn't meant to destroy one of them emotionally. "I wish I," she took a deep breath, "had...I wish I had longer. But I can't wait. You have to be ready now."

"Darcy, helping Thor is one thing. Deferring to every one of his idiotic notions is _not_-"

"Loki," she said desperately. "You _have _to be ready," she repeated. "This is all I have left. I don't know what's going to happen." He watched carefully as her hand came up to his face, his double watching for any sign of the claws coming out, but found none. "No matter what happens, I love you," she said. "I think you are the most amazing person I've ever met. I don't regret a single day with you."

"Darcy, don't talk like that," he pleaded. "You are here now. Just stay with me. Whatever it is-" He froze as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, breathed deeply, painfully, and held a hand up between them. His eyes widened as the familiar looking shape of the scepter, given to him by Thanos, formed within the grasp of her thin fingers. It had been stored in the vault of Asgard, to his knowledge. Darcy had been _keeping _a captured relic of Asgard? He turned back to her, eyes afire with unmitigated shock. Darcy had always been nothing if not full of surprises.

"It's yours again," she said, more breathless than before as her exhausted form could not longer hold up her head. "I had to decide when you were ready to have it. When you were ready to go home."

"That was your test," he whispered. "When you were sick. When you chanted in your sleep," he said. "You were hiding this." He placed his hand over hers, the familiar thrum of power from the scepter, and consequently, the Tesseract, felt as if it seeped into his veins, starting with his fingers wrapped around her hand as it held the spear.

"I don't know how I can keep it together anymore," she said. "This was all I had to keep a part of me sane. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm angry," she whispered. "And afraid. And sad. And I hate everything, all the time."

"We found something," he said. "We will fix it, I swear it." She nodded.

"She's coming back. I can feel it," she said quietly. "I don't know when I will see you again. I don't know how I can come back."

"If this is what you had to do, then your test is over," he said, a desperate edge on his voice. "Odin owes you-"

"Haven't passed yet," she said. "It's all up to you now." She leaned forward, hand still wrapped around the scepter, and kissed him gingerly on the mouth again. "Don't screw this up."

"I will fix this," he said. "I will make it right." He gasped when her hand fell from the scepter as her body fell limply onto her back. Slowly he pulled himself away from her, the scepter hanging like an extension from his body as he examined it in his hand, not sure if it was entirely real. The rush of power continuing to course through his own body assured him that it was.

Four weeks, he thought. Four weeks Darcy had been hiding this. To hide a conduit of the Tesseract in the mind would take the considerable skill of an experienced magister. The power, no doubt, to do so was given to her by Odin. It would have been taxing to anyone, let alone a mortal with no training in magic. She hadn't been able to sleep. She had looked so tired. Everything seemed to click into place as he placed a second hand on the scepter. Odin apparently sealed his fate to Darcy's even more, as his own exile was now linked with her success. They both succeeded together, or they both failed together, both alternatives were now resting solely on his decisions.

He could feel the imprint of Darcy's mind coming forth into his own. Everything she had endured: Being beaten and then healed. Starved. Almost drowned. Deprived of sleep and light until she could did not even know reality from a bare white room she created in her head in which to hide. He was there. She kept his imprint close to teach her things he knew, figuring out how to hide from whatever Shaw did to her. He could feel them cutting open the back of her head, placing something inside and sewing her back up. Midgardian science that made her a killer full of rage and hate. He could feel everything even the unstable Darcy could feel. She wanted nothing more than to die. To get the Avengers to kill her, causing them as much anguish as she could on the way down. It was the one purpose given to her by the microchip in her brain, and she knew no other alternative. White hot rage felt as if it would bubble out of his eye sockets as he stared at Darcy stirring, the softness in her face gone as she tried shaking the cobwebs from her mind, but he realized it was only tears escaping his eyes. He knew his lover was gone again, leaving only the husk Shaw had created. He did not even know if Darcy was still there. She didn't have the link to the Tesseract anymore.

They had taken the most beautiful person he had ever known and turned her into into a killer. His hands squeezed tightly around the scepter, his knuckles turning white as he watched her awaken.

But she hadn't done anything irreversible yet, and he would make sure that she never did. She struggled to sit up, glaring at him.

"Well, well, well," she said almost nervously. "Someone got his big boy toy back." In spite of her mocking tone, he could tell she was trepidatious at the sight of him with the scepter once again in his hand. Her shoulders were slumped, her breathing slowed, as if she sat waiting for death to finally be granted to her. "Where did you get that?" Loki smiled slyly.

"You, of course, my pet," he said as she stared at him cautiously, watching him walk closer to her.

"I think I would have remembered that," she said. The smile on his face faded as he watched her eyes darting around, trying to find an upper hand.

"Forgive me Darcy," he said quietly. She narrowed her eyes as he launched at her with the spear aimed right at her chest. She screamed abruptly as the point stopped just at her breastbone. She froze.

"That's a little cold," she echoed. Another tear escaped Loki's eye as he watched the blue film rise over both of hers once again. He swore he would never do this to her after the last time. He only hoped she would understand when it was over. Her knees buckled as he took over her mind, and he reached out to catch her, slightly more considerate than the last time. He did not know what the effects of mind control while being mind controlled by something else actually were, but he hoped it wasn't too severe. His poor, poor Darcy. When this was all over, they were going on vacation, he didn't care what The Man of Iron had to say about it.

"I don't feel very good," she said, lethargy washing over her.

"I don't imagine you do, my love," he replied, despite the fact that it was not his real girlfriend but rather a more homicidal personality that now controlled her. The ridiculousness of it all now threatened to make even his head hurt. He came over to lean her back on the bed, tucking her under the blankets.

"I'm not sleepy," she whined softly. "I've been sleeping all _day_."

"I know you aren't darling," he said lovingly, kissing her forehead. "I won't make you sleep. But you are going to stay here and be a good girl for everyone while I'm gone," he said.

"Who am I to obey?" she asked sincerely. Loki cringed at the words. This wasn't Darcy, he had to remind himself. He was trying to keep her from getting hurt or hurting anyone.

"Listen to Tony Stark," he said. "Obey him as you would me. He will take care of you while I am gone."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to Jotunheim, love."


	33. Chapter 33

**So... part of the reason it took so long was because I worked on a companion piece for this for a friend as her birthday present. It's uh... not exactly...appropriate for here, so it's on my Tumblr, which you can get to through my bio page. I have a link called "My Fanfiction" if you are interested. It's... of a higher rating of this story, so be warned.**

**Also, please look to the top left corner of this page. Do you see it? Do you see that awesome cover art? Amazing Jotun!Darcy, done by above mentioned friend, ohmyloki, for my story. She is so talented, and also has a Tumblr and account you should check out.**

* * *

"_Happy birthday to you!_

_Happy birthday to you!_

_Happy birthday, dear Darcy!_

_Happy birthday to you!_

_ Happy birthday, Darcy! I do _wish_ you felt up to blowing out your candles. You turn twenty-four today, according to your file, and you are spending it here with us! Isn't that just marvelous? I'm sure your friends would be here if they could, but you know how busy they can be. "_

Quietly as a whisper, Loki moved through the snow of Jotunheim. Deftly grasping the scepter in his hand, he allowed Darcy's memories of captivity to wash over him, feeding the rage quietly boiling somewhere between his heart and his stomach. He followed the path she had cut into the canyonside, an obvious trail back up from where she had come. It seemed to be blanketed by a deathly stillness as falling snow covered the evidence of chaos from the day before. Loki's tall, dark form teleported from spot to spot up the mountain, invisible to anyone watching. It did not take him very long by himself to find a hollow on the side of a mountain with a dark opening that looked like a cave. He could see Darcy's small, frantic footsteps originating from inside. Still cloaked with a transparency illusion, he silently stepped into the entrance of the cave, sending forth many duplicates of himself to scout for any impending attack.

The boiling sensation intensified even still at the sight of the slab in the middle of the first room that was dotted with a few drops of blood in various areas. His scepter echoed memories of Darcy being bound to the thing as she was tormented by Shaw. Of her crying when she was alone, calling for him or Stark or Thor. Of her head being cut open to make way for whatever device they had placed in her. He savored the taste of the hatred he had not felt for a long while. He could see Darcy awaking on the slab just before she had escaped. She had managed to throw Shaw into the wall, causing him to burst into diamond shards only to reform again, laughing in her wake. SHIELD had said every blow and bullet was simply absorbed by him and was able to be used as a weapon. Impressive, Loki supposed. His demise would require a bit of imagination. Fortunately, Loki was nothing if not a creative individual.

He had no expectation of seeing Shaw or Mammoth there: he simply was looking for information. Perhaps any indication of where Shaw was located in Midgard, or where Mammoth was located in Jotunheim. Mammoth, while perhaps more powerful than a Frost Giant, was still a Frost Giant. He perhaps has greater strength than Loki and could even, apparently, manipulate some magical energy, Loki knew he would be easier prey if completely separated from any allies. It was _Mammoth_ who had enabled Shaw to shape Darcy into a Jotunn, partially, for the express purpose of hurting _him_, the one who had attacked his planet. Objectively, Loki would have been able to see it as a fitting return of favor, but he was in no mood to play fairly. The only feeling he could not shake was the thought of his brother, earnestly asking for his advice on the entire situation when they had found Darcy.

How many years had he wished for Thor to seek his counsel, to listen to reason, instead of acting on his emotions? All of the sudden, for the _one_ time Loki wished to act on the heat of his blood, the God of Thunder was suddenly wanting to play the patient ambassador. Darcy's voice, before she had been overcome by whatever controlled her mind, echoed in his ears. _You must agree to obey your king_. The words had seemed so foreign on her lips. Darcy did not speak of obedience or duty. She spoke of her iPod and the correct way to organize a movie collection. Even her work with Stark, which she took very seriously, somehow still managed to look like a game to her. She was a little too much like Stark in that regard. For those few precious moment, when she had given him the scepter, she had been uncharacteristically sober.

Loki suddenly realized, looking at the stone slab stained with what was most likely her blood, that he was not the only one to have changed since his attack on Midgard. Even if Stark or SHIELD was successful in removing the corruption in Darcy's mind, there would be a darkness in her where once there had been none, one for which he was responsible, directly or indirectly. If Darcy passed her test and was made immortal, and her body restored even stronger and purer than it was before, she would still be a different person than the woman with whom he had fallen in love. Their entire relationship had been built on need: his despair and her ability and willingness to alleviate it. How would it be when she had her own demons to fight, and she could not dedicate herself to helping him fight his? Would he be able to be there for her when or if the storm settled and they had only each other, broken as they both would be?

As if it had a will of its own, sensing his internal struggle, the scepter allowed other memories of Darcy to wash over his mind, soothing the acidic anger burning beneath his calm movements. He could feel Darcy's contentment the night she had first rested her head on his shoulder as they watched television, playing her simple dice game on her phone. He could feel her unique mixture of patient irritation and mesmerized fascination when he declared checkmate against her during a game of chess. He could feel the glee threatening to dissolve her into giggling fits the first night they had made love, and many, many times after that. He could feel her elation the day he had knelt before her, declaring his love as sincerely as he knew how. She had dared to love him at his worst while it had been easy to love her at her best, but he wasn't the strong and steadfast hero. He could change his mind as easily as a wind could change direction. So long had he been a liar, he could not even trust himself anymore. Would he be willing to stay by her side when she no longer gave him what he felt he needed from her?

Shifting his vacant gaze to the slab, letting the sound of her frightened whimpers call out his name through the scepter, he decided that this would be the one thing to which he would remain true.

Rage flooded him once again, more intensely, as if the balm of Darcy's more pleasant memories had never been applied. As he continued walking through the dank and narrow passages of ice and rock, it returned, head on again, with messages for which Darcy had risked everything to give.

He had to obey his king.

He had to obey his brother.

He had to serve _Thor_.

A wave of nausea washed over him at the thought.

While his relationship with Thor had certainly approached something that resembled the path to healing, being fully subjugated once again under Thor's thumb did not sit well with Loki. While Midgard had been something of a gilded prison, he had experienced a certain amount of freedom in his exile, especially with his brother and minion turned friend turned lover dedicated to helping him adjust again. As much as he longed to see Asgard and return home, he had not imagined the price of his reinstatement would be some sort of recognition of the brother he had thought a fool for centuries as his sovereign. How was he supposed to go about that, even if he wanted to? And Darcy, of all people, had been the one to decide when he was ready? She had decided that he _was_ ready, or as close as he could get before it became impossible for her to give him the scepter. Odin had played the three of them well. At the heart of the All-father's orchestration, it came down to him paying for Darcy's immortality with his own obedience. His dedication to rebuilding a relationship with his brother and adoptive parents and ending his exile, of course, came into play, but the promise of Darcy becoming an Aesir was the immediate, tangible reward he saw in his future, something that would not take years of work to achieve. It was an interesting gamble for his father to take with the son who was also called the God of Mischief. Loki rarely cared about anything enough for it to allow leverage over him. He wondered what made his father trust in such sentiment to bring him home. As he continued to delve into the Tesseract's record of Darcy's mind, there was the faint glimmer of painful familiarity.

His mother.

He could feel her warmth and compassion soothing Darcy's mind as the two of them had been connected: one with the Tesseract and one with the scepter. Of course Odin always had Frigga's quiet, perceptive wisdom at his use. It had been she that had convinced Odin her son cared enough about Darcy to merit a testing, had it not? The queen had known his heart before his lips even _touched_ Darcy's, as she always had. It had not been Odin counting on him wanting Darcy enough to bring him home on their terms, but his mother. It was _she_ who thought he loved Darcy enough to give up the more wicked parts of himself and simply _come home_. Perhaps she was right. If he did not trust himself, he would trust her.

That of course brought him to his current quandary. What was he doing in Jotunheim?

He was out for blood: blood that Thor had decided he did not want spilled. Mammoth, technically, was more valuable to Asgard alive rather than dead. If he was willing to give up Shaw, and stop Jotunheim's call for vengeance, he could possibly forge the lasting peace between between his realm and Asgard that Odin had so long sought. If Loki killed him, as he wished to, those hopes would die with him. He doubted it would go to his credit if he did exactly the opposite of what Thor wanted within an hour of being given the right to re-enter Asgard. Loki came to a halt in an empty room of the cave, deciding that he should leave: travel to Asgard and offer his service to Thor while trying to come up with a solution to their current dilemma. That would be the straightforward, safe thing to do.

As if fate itself was tempting him, he suddenly heard an uncomfortable groan coming from around the corner. Frowning, he sent forth a duplicate of himself to see what it was. There, propped up against a wall, was the massive, clearly injured Mammoth, bleeding from a wound in his abdomen.

When Loki was certain Mammoth was not able to move, he teleported to several feet in front of the wounded Jotunn, allowing himself to be seen. Mammoth's red eyes widened for a moment, but quickly relaxed into cool expectation. A knowing smiled formed on his cracked, blue lips.

"I suppose I should be flattered that they sent their best assassin after me," he said.

* * *

Stark prided himself on many things, one of which being his ability to handle awkward silences.

His relationship with Pepper alone had accounted for enough of them to put any competing awkward-silence-handler to shame. Between his girlfriend and his teammates, all of whom seemed to have a talent of creeping everyone the hell out and/or annoying the piss out of them, he would have to consider himself a champion.

So to say coming face-to-face with psycho Darcy -with no hint of Loki in sight- and having her ask for his instruction was a little disconcerting spoke volumes of how uncomfortable Stark truly was. The SHIELD doctors were to arrive any minute, and their morally ambiguous court wizard was not there to magic her back to sleep so they could do their jobs. After a quick call to Banner to get his jolly green giant ass -he _might _ have used those words- into the shop, he continued to simply stare into Darcy's eyes, now both covered in a blue film which he had some serious questions about.

"Darcy," he began.

"Yes?" she asked, somewhat pleasantly.

"Where's Loki?"

"He has gone to Jotunheim." Stark turned his head just slightly, as if to focus one eye on her.

"Yeah," he said. "And... why would he be doing that?"

"He did not tell me," she replied simply.

"Well why don't you use that decently-observant brain I pay you quite well to use when you are not causing me bodily harm," he pointed to his face, "and give me your best guess." She tilted her head to the side, an unreadable expression appearing as her eyebrow arched slightly over her eerily blue eyes.

"I imagine he is none too happy with Mammoth and Shaw," she said. "He doesn't like it when others play with his toys." Tony tried to ignore the creep factor he got at her referring to herself as Loki's toy.

"And why would he leave now, all of the sudden, to do that?" Tony asked.

"He has a means of killing them quite easily, now," she replied. "At least Mammoth. Shaw might prove a little more difficult."

"What means?" Stark asked.

"I believe you called it his Glowstick of Destiny." Stark froze.

"And where, might one inquire, did he get that? Thor told us it was locked up safely on his home planet." Darcy shrugged.

"He said I gave it to him, but I think I would have remembered doing that," she said. Stark's eyes narrowed briefly, the film over her eyes and her complacency suddenly making sense, although Barton would probably be more confident than he was about the new development in Darcy's condition. He had technically never seen either of them while they were mind-warped by Loki, but if Loki somehow had his spear again, taking command of her brain would have been the best play. However, if he was going to Jotunheim to kill their lead to Shaw, Stark would have to dock him points for that one. Of course if Shaw was still there, he might be getting himself killed. Stark briefly wondered if that actually bothered him as he took out his phone, sending a quick message to the archer to meet him downstairs.

"And is there some reason you were asking me for orders?" he asked her, still looking at his phone.

"Loki told me to listen to you while he was gone," she said.

"And why is that?"

"Because he trusts you to take care of me," she replied simply. Stark's eyebrows came together in an emotion he, himself, could not identify as both Barton and Banner let themselves in through his shop door.

"Our doctors have shown up. What's the situation?" Barton asked as he drew closer. The archer frowned as they both came closer to the cell containing Darcy. "Where's Loki?"

"He's decided to take a pleasure cruise back to Jotunheim, apparently," Stark replied. "Or so Darcy here tells me." Barton looked at Darcy, and Tony watched as every muscle in him froze. "Something wrong, Katniss?" Darcy tilted her head while staring at Barton, seemingly curious about his scrutiny.

"She-" He hesitated. "Her eyes..."

"Look like they did when Loki last brainwashed the two of you?" Stark finished, almost hopefully. Barton snapped his head to look at Stark, then back at Darcy.

"Yes," he finished, uneasily.

"Apparently, Loki has his Glowstick of Destiny back..."

"The scepter," Barton said.

"And he left to kill our current big nasty just after he enchanted Sleeping Beauty over here to do whatever I tell her."

"Why would he do that?"

"Well I'm guessing to keep her attempted murders to a minimum."

"I am standing right _here_," Darcy said, crossing her arms.

"Well I'm guessing to keep _your_ attempted murders to a minimum," Tony repeated, his eyes widening dramatically and head swaying back and forth as he turned to Darcy.

"Well, I guess we still have Banner here if it doesn't work," Barton said. "But, if she is... set to obey you," he struggled with the words, "then we should be okay to go on with the removal of whatever's back there. We better hope that's the answer, though. Any severe head trauma could break loose the hold on her.

"Well," Banner said. "Here goes nothing." With that, he opened the cage.


	34. Chapter 34

It was almost comical to see Jane stare up at Heimdall for the first time. Jane had all the childlike wonder Thor had anticipated since he had first imagined bringing her to see his home. The only thing keeping her from floating away into the atmosphere was Thor's hand gently but firmly pulling her along past Heimdall's stoic gaze. Jane knew she was there because everything was going to hell fast back home, but Asgard was absolutely breathtaking and emotional misery had never kept her from being curious. From the newly constructed observatory, to the rainbow bridge, to the entrance to the palace, Jane's eyes were anywhere and everywhere at once. It was the middle of night also in Asgard, and so very few citizens milled about around the grounds. A few of the guards seemed quite surprised, but pleased, to see the two of them coming tearing through the palace doors in the middle of the night: a small, wide-eyed Midgardian clinging to her leather satchel and their future king nearly dragging her along.

Unlike Jane's amazement, his parents fully awake and waiting for him was not something Thor expected. He had anticipated waiting until the morning to speak to father.

"Thor!" his mother said, running to him and embracing her son as Jane let go of his hand, taking a quick step back as she stared on at his parents, wholly unprepared for what they would look like. Her eyes darted over to Odin, who calmly approached them with a sense of great dignity, even in the middle of the night in what seemed to be casual clothing. Jane tensed as Odin's intense gaze from his one eye seem fixed on her. "We are so thankful the two of you are safe," Frigga continued, pulling away from Thor and looking to Jane. The astrophysicist was a little taken aback. The queen was more... affectionate than she had imagined a queen would be.

"Mother? Father? Why are you awake at this hour?" Thor asked. "We expected to wait until-"

"There is no time to spare any longer," Odin replied quickly. "Heimdall had to awaken us. Your brother is missing." Thor and Jane frowned, sharing a concerned look.

"Loki missing?" Thor questioned. "We said goodbye to him but a few hours ago."

"Yes," Odin said, surprisingly calm. "Come. This is not the place," he said, gesturing to a smaller, more intimate room. "Miss Foster," he greeted, nodding his head to her respectfully as he led the way. "As king of this realm, I welcome you to Asgard, though not in as pleasant of circumstances as I would have wished." Jane colored furiously, not sure if she should say anything, or bow, or what, but he and Thor were already on their way to the other exit of the room. She hesitantly stepped a little as Thor took off after Odin. Frigga grabbed her hand without hesitation. Jane looked at the gorgeous older woman, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Come, my dear," she whispered. "There is no reason to be nervous around him. He will not hurt you." Jane noticed she did not say that he was harmless or incapable of hurting anyone, just that he wouldn't. How strange to think that for all her fiancee's strength or Loki's magic, this king of Asgard was more powerful than both of them. Jane nodded, uncharacteristically quiet as the queen lead them behind her husband and son. The queen's warm hand so boldly wrapped around her own somehow managed to comfort her, rather than scare the daylights out of her, which is what she would have imagined her reaction to be. Everything about the woman seemed to radiate serenity and warmth, and Jane immediately felt at ease, briefly wondering if comfort could be a superpower.

"Loki holds the scepter once again," Odin continued when they reached a smaller chamber on the other side of the throne room. "He has permission to return to Asgard. His action forthwith will determine if his status stands." Jane's mouth fell open slightly while Thor blinked at his father.

"His exile is lifted?" Thor questioned. "When? Why is he not here?"

"The mortal Darcy Lewis was charged with determining the length of his exile," he said formally. "She was able to awaken, so to speak, just moments after you left. She was charged with the supervision of the scepter when her testing began, until she decided it was time for Loki to reclaim it."

"Testing?" Jane asked absently. She grew nervous when everyone's eyes turned to her, especially the one Odin had.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you," Thor explained. "Even I was not supposed to know. Darcy was being tested to become an Aesir before she was kidnapped." Jane's eyes widened, the implications of what her fiance was saying suddenly hitting her.

"Darcy was going to become an immortal?" she asked. "To be with Loki?" Odin's eye fell to the floor briefly before looking to Jane again. He could see her grow nervous under his scrutiny, but she still met his eyes.

"In truth," Odin confessed, "no. Darcy believed herself to be doing a service for Asgard, which she was, though she was skeptical of the circumstances, of course. I told her she would be granted a favor from me when the need arose, if she was successful. Her test was to show patience of judgement in determining Loki's ability to return home with the understanding that he must obey Thor as his king. She has decided now is the time."

"But, why did she need to go through that if she wouldn't want to become an Aesir?" Jane asked timidly.

"It was my idea," Frigga volunteered. "I know it is difficult to explain, but I know my son. I knew that he cared very deeply for your friend, even then. When I visited Darcy and saw that she felt the same, we felt it best to try to give her the option as soon as we could, knowing the dangers she faced when Shaw's men first attacked her. We were still too late, unfortunately."

"But she has given Loki the scepter," Thor finally interjected. "Has she passed?"

"We still do not know where Loki is," Frigga replied, concern showing clearly in her voice. "He did not come home. Heimdall saw him disappear into Jotunheim. I cannot even reach him through the Tesseract." Thor's jaw clenched, nervousness ticking in his teeth.

"Loki suggested we try to make an ally of Mammoth," he finally said. "He was not happy about it, but he said it would be the best way to fight Shaw, as well as bring about peace with Jotunheim."

"If such a thing could be accomplished, he would be right," Odin agreed. "My scouts looking for Darcy were met with hostility. Aims for peace seem no more likely than they did during Laufey's reign."

"He proposed something that would need your approval," Thor said thoughtfully. "But now, if Loki is in Jotunheim, then we must hope he is there to use his silver tongue, rather than his spells."

"If it is the former," Odin replied, "then Darcy Lewis of Midgard becomes Aesir, and part of your court, if she chooses. Come, what is this plan that would need my approval?"

* * *

Darcy lay on her side, her arms wrapped around her knees with a thin blanket covering what her hospital gown didn't. Tony sat at her side, surprisingly quiet as he waited for the surgeons to prepare for the operation. He was unused to seeing Darcy so quiet. The regular-hued side of her face was pale, her mismatched eyes sullen. She formed a small ball under her blankets, the only part of her visible beside her face covered by her chestnut hair was her small blue and peach hand peeking out from under the covers. He stared at it for a while, relieved that it wasn't trying to kill him. That was a plus.

The echo of silence that had covered them since the SHIELD doctors had arrived had been both comforting and unnerving. Several of the surgeons that had arrived made quick work of finding the microchip in the back of her head. An accelerated battery of tests in the confiscated wing of the local hospital - done with efficiency that had impressed even Stark- had revealed that Darcy's severe personality alteration had occurred most likely from the combination of a dramatic disruption in the chemical balance of her brain -and whatever else they had not discovered about the chip- in addition to three weeks of abuse and conditioning. She had, quite literally, been scared out her mind. They were unsure what removing the chip would actually accomplish, but they knew it could only help. According to the main neurosurgeon, the removal of the source of the imbalance would either lead to a breakdown of her new behavior and help her revert back, or it could leave her even less psychologically unstable. They had decided to hope for the best option. Loki's mind control on top of everything seemed to be overriding whatever impulses the chip was sending her way. Stark doubted her mind being at war with itself for very long would be any help.

"Are you mad at me, Tony?" he heard her ask. Stark looked down at her, her eyes fixed off to the side, her small form still curled in a ball.

"No, Darcy, I'm not mad at you," he said.

"I don't know how I feel," she said. "I think I should feel anything else but what I do, but I don't feel anything."

"It won't be long now," Stark replied confidently, straightening. "We'll get that scrap out of your noggin and you'll be back to your annoyingly cheerful self."

"Or I'll be brain-dead," she said blandly. Stark froze for a brief moment.

"Only if we're lucky," he said, interlocking his fingers together and resting his elbows on his knees.

"I liked it better when I was trying to kill you," she said quietly. "I could think about something other than being so afraid." Stark looked at her small hand poking out of the folds of the blanket. He reached out and then pulled back several times, finally managing to take her hand in his. It was painful to the touch, but enough of her hand was her normal color, and it was bearable.

"I can't say I'm upset that you don't want to kill me."

"I didn't say I didn't want to," she replied. "It's just... quiet now." Stark took a deep breath.

"Don't be afraid, kid," he said. He watched Darcy stare at their hands as if she were examining an insect she had never seen before. Seconds and minutes ticked by, but she said nothing, remaining perfectly still.

"I guess we're all some kind of monster, huh?" she finally pondered softly. "And sometimes we're just lucky enough to have someone hold our hand while we try to keep control." Stark's chest tightened as he bent his head, focusing on not letting any tears fall, remembering Darcy clinging to the Hulk's hand as sparks and chaos flew around her. "Is that why you love Pepper?" she continued. "Because she holds your hand when you feel like the absolute worst version of yourself?" Tony's mouth twitched from side to side uncomfortably as he leaned back, crossing his legs, but still holding her hand.

"She doesn't hold my hand," he said. "She kicks my ass until I'm the best version of myself."

"I don't feel like I have a best version anymore," she said quietly. "I just have bits and pieces of one here and there."

"That's all any of us have, kid," he said. "Just focus on those bits and pieces."

"You told me you were proud of me once."

"What?"

"When I moved to California, after my first day and we spent ten hours learning a new coding. You told me you were proud of me." She paused. "It was casually in passing, but no one had ever told me that before." Her thumb twitched back and forth in his hand. "I told you had I to go to the bathroom, but really I just didn't want you to see me cry. I feel like that was one of my best versions." Stark sniffed, staring down at his young employee. When the neurosurgeons came in to take her, his eyes looked like they were set in a cold stare, but even Darcy knew better. She met his eyes as they rolled her way, breaking his hold on her hand. "Wish me luck," she said. Stark said nothing as he stood watching the SHIELD doctors roll her down the hallway to the operating room and through the double doors, swinging shut behind them. He tucked his hands in his pockets, watching as Banner met them in the hallway, as neither of them were trusting enough to leave Darcy with SHIELD unattended. The two of them gave each other a slight nod, as the double doors finally stopped swinging.

"Good luck," Stark whispered.

* * *

Loki started down at the dying Jotunn, his would-be half brother. His entire body was covered in abrasions as blood dripped from the side of his mouth, appearing almost black against his skin. A giant blue hand covered what appeared to be a deep gash on the side of his abdomen. Even sitting, propped against the wall, Mammoth surpassed him in height. Loki said nothing as he stared at him, realizing that one of Darcy's tormentors lay at his mercy. Loki had never shied from an easy kill out of some misplaced sense of nobility; it was smart to strike when your enemy was weak. All the same, he narrowed his eyes at the Frost Giant, considering the situation carefully as Darcy's words echoed in his mind.

"It seems your alliance with Shaw has not turned out as you planned," Loki drawled, a smirk on his face as he lowered the scepter to hang at his side, though still ready, as he moved slightly closer to Frost Giant. He had expected some sort of growl or complaint. Instead, Mammoth merely smiled weakly, bitterness reflecting in his eyes.

"I suppose not," he said, even his soft answer reverberated off the cavern walls. "It is fitting that my the final blow come from your hands. You, who killed so many of my kin. My only hope is that my death may unite them to bring you to justice as my life could not." He shifted uncomfortably, and Loki could feel the vibrations in the stone beneath his feet from the movement.

"Because attacking Asgard has worked out so well for the Frost Giants in the past," Loki replied.

"Oh?" Mammoth replied, though there was no surprise in his voice. "Attacking you is now attacking Asgard? Has Odin the Merciful accepted you back to the warm bosom of the Realm Eternal?" Loki lifted his chin defiantly. "How very fortunate for you to have benefited twice over from the Allfather. Not all the cast offs of Laufey's reign were." Mammoth breathed heavily. "Come. I grow weary of this talk. Have your vengeance. I will not pretend it was not well earned, in spite of what you have done."

Loki's grip tightened around his scepter, his long legs crossing each other's path as he paced the room, a mixture of his lover's cries, his brother's pleas, and his father's judgement mixing themselves in his mind, tearing his desires in every direction.

"Where is Shaw?" Loki asked, ignoring the frost giant's comment. "What is his plan? I will give you a chance to tell me willingly, and to deal with Asgard as a king." Mammoth laughed bitterly.

"It is my refusal alone that will keep him from seeking vengeance on my people when I am gone," he said. "He cannot travel worlds without me now, but there is no limit to his ambitions. He would find a way eventually."

"So you must have been on Midgard when he attacked you," Loki said. "You allowed us to take Darcy and then travelled to Midgard. It appears a disagreement of sorts came about?" Mammoth said nothing. "There must be some reason he attacked you. Will telling even that bring his fearsome wrath?" Loki asked mockingly.

"What does it matter?" Mammoth said as impatiently as he could manage. "Either do what you came to do or leave. I have nothing left to say to you."

"And how is it you know what I came to do?" Loki questioned. "Your lack of vision is uninspiring. You have sacrificed everything, including innocent Midgardians who had the misfortune of being attached to me, in order to solidify your power. You would now cower before a Jotunn runt?" Loki sneered. "How unsatisfying."

"My life's great regret, I am sure," Mammoth said, his breathing growing heavily, a strange silence stretching between the two of them. "Does the girl... live?" he asked. Loki narrowed his eyes dangerously and gripped his scepter more tightly, quite certain his final decision would come after the Jotunn's next words.

"Yes," Loki replied. "She _lives_." The God of Mischief watched Mammoth closely, both dreading and curious about his question. Thor wanted Mammoth alive. He _wanted_ to help Thor almost as much as he want to resent him. Loki thought his heart would suddenly burst from his chest, all the while Darcy's tiny, tired voice echoed in his memory. _You have to be ready. This is all I have left. I don't know what's going to happen._ A sort of grumble emanated from Mammoth as he shifted, gripping his side.

"I did not know the extent of Shaw's plans for her," he said quietly. "Not that it matters now. He said that you killed two of his men, revealing your existence to protect her. He said if she were made repulsive to you, that you would abandon these... Avengers, and would be alone once again. If it meant killing you and uniting my people, I thought it would be a necessary sacrifice, for she was not to die or even come to great harm. Once he understood she was dear to all of you... I suppose Shaw was never one to pass an opportunity to weaken enemies of his own." Loki gritted his teeth, searching the Frost Giant's eyes for deception or even mockery.

He found nothing like that. He found only... regret.

"I had never seen a Midgardian before," he continued. "I imagined them to be like little pets: small and yet relatively harmless. I did not know how to feel when I saw that she was..." he paused, "both of those things. "

"I am not here to talk about Darcy," Loki interrupted, impatiently.

"It upsets you," Mammoth said before he could continue, almost pleased. "How amusing."

"Darcy is neither small, nor harmless, and she will be even less so in the future," Loki replied. "And it would do you credit to not speak about that which you know nothing. You can stay here to die, or you can listen to what I have to offer. Right now you have information on Shaw. This is valuable to us, and therefore you have something to bargain with. We have the Casket." Mammoth's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, but not to Loki. "Should you be able to provide information to lead us to his capture, or otherwise, I have it on good authority that you may be allowed use of the Casket of Winters to rebuild your city, and possibly its full return, should our worlds prove able to live in harmony once again, as before Laufey's rule. It would be no small gesture, I'm sure, to those who still don't accept you as his heir."

"Odin will stand with Midgard against Shaw?" Mammoth questioned, his breath heavy. "Interesting."

"We protect our interests," Loki replied. "As you should yours. Do you accept?"

"You are treacherous," Mammoth said, "and a talented liar. What fool would I be to trust you?" Loki approached slowly raising his scepter to Mammoth's chest. The Frost Giant inhaled sharply as a strange warmth washed over him, the various abrasions slowly sealing shut. Loki removed his scepter as healing magic washed over Mammoth, the deep gash in his stomach slowly turning into healing blue flesh.

"You would be a great fool to trust me, but it is my brother, the future king of Asgard, who proposes this, and I who must speak on his behalf and adhere to his wishes," Loki replied as Mammoth slowly rose to his full height, still unintimidated. "Should you prove unwilling to cooperate, it is my hope that he will leave your fate to me, and I have far less use of you alive."


	35. Chapter 35

Frigga smoothed out the bed in the room she had prepared for Jane as the young woman stood awkwardly, looking around for a way to make herself useful. The queen had no doubt she and her son were already sharing a bed, but she thought she would make the attempt to give the girl her own space while in Asgard, should she require it. Her son's betrothed had said so little since the two of them had left Odin and Thor to discuss possibilities for Jotunheim and Midgard.

"There will always be a servant and a guard coming down this hallway," Frigga said, walking up to Jane. "Should you require anything, you need only ask." Jane nodded nervously.

"Thank you," she said. Frigga once again took one of Jane's hand in hers.

"My dear, I know this must be unnerving," the queen said. "It is difficult enough meeting the parents of your future husband without such dire circumstances surrounding you. I do hope that you will take care, and sleep well tonight. There is little more we can do now." Jane looked down at the woman's hand enveloping hers.

"Whenever I have a problem, I usually just build something to test it," Jane replied. "I'm not used to problems that data analysis can't solve." Frigga smiled.

"Your mind is one of the many things of which Thor spoke so fondly while you were parted," Frigga said. Jane could not hide the small smile forming at the comment. "I hope you'll forgive me for saying, but at first I thought you were a passing infatuation from a world he rarely visited. As the months passed, I knew you to be something quite different." She released Jane's hand, gently letting it down as her own hands clasped together just at her chest.

"Thank you," Jane said. "For being so nice to me. I know our engagement isn't...official until I," she paused, "do something like Darcy had to. But it's nice that you act like it is." Frigga smiled warmly, bringing a hand to Jane's cheek briefly. The touch was so foreign to Jane, but it was still comforting.

"Thor would not have chosen you if he thought you were not capable," Frigga said, letting her hand fall once again, a discomforted look crossing her features. Jane noticed, of course. A long moment of silence stretched between them while Jane debated on whether or not to ask her anything.

"Do you think that... Loki will come back?" Jane finally asked, happy to change the subject. Frigga looked at her again, Jane's question clearly the subject of Frigga's internal struggle judging by her reaction, just as the physicist had suspected. The queen let her eyes drift closed for a moment before meeting Jane's again.

"My younger son has always been a mysterious creature," she said fondly. "I believe in his ability to do what is right when the occasion calls for it." Jane thought she would faint at the sight of Frigga almost rolling her eyes indulgently. "Or, if it suits his purposes, of course. I know you don't have the best impression of Loki, Jane, but he was not always what you've seen him to be... not that he has ever been able to keep from getting into trouble, either, but he has always been so sensitive and devoted, especially to Thor. He feels things so very deeply. I believe it can be overwhelming for him at times. But I think that Loki wants to come home. I think he is _ready_ to come home. If he knows exactly what it takes to make that happen, then I believe -I hope- that he will do so."

"I might not have been able to see that a few months ago, but," Jane paused, "the way he looks at Darcy, sometimes. Even before they admitted they were together. Even when she came back and was...different. He was so... I don't know. I just, didn't expect that from the guy who tried to take over our planet."

"Loki is nothing if not extreme," Frigga replied thoughtfully, "unfortunately. But, from what I saw, I believe his stay on Midgard has help him learn a bit of balance, and I believe I have your friend to thank for that, in part." Jane smiled softly.

"We all do," she said. "She keeps us all in line. Me, Loki, Stark. I feel like I'd float away sometimes without her." Jane's eyes cast off to the side, pain twisting her brows together. Frigga looked upon her, sympathy clear in her eyes.

"You are worried for your friend," she said. Jane nodded, trying to keep her composure.

"They haven't let me see much of her since she came back," Jane replied. sitting down on the bed. She tensed, but relaxed quickly, when Frigga sat next to her. "She saved my life. I think they were going to take me too, when they kidnapped her. I just wanted to see her. Talk to her. I was so worried they would hurt her. And... they did, but Thor didn't want me to talk to her. He was afraid she would try to hurt me. I'm just... not used to not having her, I guess." Frigga smiled sadly at her, warmth in her eyes.

"It is good that you have such a friend in her. It brings me comfort knowing that the woman my son loves is worth such loyalty." She paused, placing a gentle hand to Jane's head. "Or, rather, the women that my sons love." The queen smiled as Jane struggled to not be overwhelmed with her feelings in front of Thor's mother as she took a deep breath, smiling in gratitude. "I will leave you now, my dear. Rest well. I have a feeling the dawn will bring many answers for us... and questions."

* * *

"And Loki proposed this to you?" Odin asked. Thor nodded, leaning on his fists on his father's desk.

"I know it is risky, but I agree with him," Thor said. "Asgard holding the source Jotunheim's power has played no small part in the discord between our realms. If Mammoth is willing to try to restore the peace, I believe we could grow to trust him, after a while."

"Even in spite of what he has done to your friend?" Odin questioned. Thor raised up, crossing his arms with a pensive look on his face. "He showed terrible ruthlessness in his dealings with Shaw. He is still allies with him. You are not sure he will even cooperate. If he does, it will be a bought peace at a high price."

"I know it is difficult to explain," Thor said as a few moments passed over them. "But, I do not think he is like Laufey, in spite of the wrong he has done. When we went to find Darcy, he met us. I feel that he was truly regretful, the way he spoke. I don't think he understood all of Shaw's plans. He was still wrong, but I think he may be willing to work with us. He is not like Laufey. I believe he has honor, and truly wants to help his people. The only example of a king he has ever had is that of a tyrant, but he is fighting even that." Thor sighed heavily, uncrossing his arms and resting his hands on his hips as he looked at the light streaming in from morning. He had not slept at all that night. Jane had gone to bed several hours ago. "I wish Loki was here," Thor continued. "I grow uneasy in his absence. The Souls of Valhalla only know what mischief he could be getting himself into with the scepter now in his possession."

"So little faith in me, brother?"

Odin and Thor turned to find the mischief maker, dressed in his full Asgardian armour save for his helmet, the scepter in his hand and an impish smile on his face.

"Loki!" Thor exclaimed, running to embrace his brother in a hug that would have been awkward had it been anyone else besides Thor attempting to squeeze the air out of the God of Mischief. Loki rolled his eyes, but patted Thor's shoulder nonchalantly as he heard his bones crack against the muscles of the oaf that was his brother.

"Yes, yes, Loki's here," he said patiently, a hint of annoyance in his voice, as his eyes landed on Odin several feet away.

"Why did you not come here as soon as-" Thor paused as he pulled away, seeing what had caught his brother's attention. The king stood silently, a peaceful, unreadable look on his face as he saw his two sons home once again. Loki looked him over carefully, bowing his head respectfully, extending his scepter gracefully to the side.

"Father," he said.

"My son," Odin replied. "You are late." Loki struggled to hide a smirk as Odin looked at the scepter in his hand.

"There was something I needed to do," he replied, smoothly.

"Loki," Thor said, concern clearly in his voice. "What have you done? Heimdall saw you pass into Jotunheim."

"Worry not, dear brother, I have done nothing to sabotage your little plans," he replied, switching the scepter to his other hand. "As a matter of fact, I have even brought you a guest waiting in the throne room. You might even find him a little more willing to talk to you than before. I wouldn't leave him in there too long. I believe the guards are growing nervous at having a twenty foot tall Frost Giant in Asgard."

"You brought Mammoth here?" Thor asked incredulously.

"I even saved his life," Loki said matter of factly. "That was what you wanted, was it not? If I was wrong, I will happily dispatch him for you." Thor almost began walking to the door, his mind buzzing with questions.

"Will he give up what he knows about Shaw?"

"I believe an arrangement will be easily reached," Loki replied, gesturing toward the corridor to the throne room. Thor looked back to Odin, who nodded slightly in agreement.

"It would be wise for you not to keep him waiting," Odin said. "Go out to meet him. Loki and I will be along behind you." Thor looked back and forth between the two of them several times, but nodded, leaving the the room and heading down the long corridor to the throne room. Loki confidently spun back to Odin as Thor left, his brows raised in inquiry as if asking why he was being held back. He watched as his father, dressed in his armor and much stronger than he had been before the Odinsleep, took Gungnir from it's stand, bringing it down to the ground with a resounding thunder throughout the hall. All was still between them as they stared at each other in equal amounts of uncertainty.

"Welcome home, Loki," Odin said cautiously. Loki smirked again, nodding his head respectfully.

"It is good to _be _home," he replied. "Although I believe there is still one more welcome you have to extend." Odin smiled subtly.

"I see you were able to gather the details of my bargain with Darcy from the scepter," Odin replied.

"I have done as Thor wished," Loki said, not answering. "Even with the power of the scepter, I did not end Mammoth's life as I should have, as he lay dying before me. As I understand it, those are the terms of my coming back home, are they not?" Odin could hear the edge in his voice. "You would hold the promise of Darcy's life over my head for me to do your bidding, do not think I do not see your game. But I understand your terms, and will abide by them." Odin's white brows raised for a brief moment as he considered his son's words, a gentle amusement threatening to shine out at his younger son's petulance.

"You believe that I would hold her above your head as your Midgardian would-be jailors tried?" Odin questioned. "That I wait to snatch her away lest you disobey?"

"Is that not the situation?" Loki asked.

"For all your cunning, my son, there is still so much you do not understand." Loki straightened, clearing his throat.

"Such as?" he questioned.

"Do you think the mortal Darcy Lewis so trivial that she is nothing more than a tool to keep you on the lighter side of your nature?" Loki's eyes widened almost imperceptibly as he remained silent, waiting for Odin to continue. "Darcy's test, in truth, had little to do with you. It was her own patience and judgement she had to exercise with you, the one with whom she will possibly wish to spend eternity, as her subject. She cannot know all that will happen in the future any more than I can, especially where you are concerned, but with what she knew, she thought you ready. That was her test. Considering your first act was to aid your brother in his decision even though it was against your own showed that she was correct, to some extent. I wanted judgement from her, not clairvoyance. What she has earned is hers and hers alone, and will not be taken from her should you choose poorly again. But then, you might have an even larger family to abandon."

Loki's jaw clenched at the word 'family' as images of Darcy in his family came unbidden. The pain of separation from his family had ripped at his heart for the past years until there had been almost nothing left. The thought of losing Darcy in such a way if she did ever agree to accept him permanently was more than he could think about just then.

He would not think about that. Not yet.

"You said yourself you offered her a chance to become Aesir because you believed me to love her," Loki replied, breaking his own thoughts. "You have some other purpose for her now, apart from me?"

"Everything is so much more complicated for you, Loki," Odin said. "I chose to test her before you even understood your attachment to one another so that she could earn her immortality on her own power, even if it _was_ for you that I gave her the chance. If she does choose immortality, and to spend that with you, the rest of her life would be to stand up to your antics. I wanted her to stand alone, free of your influence, and she succeeded, as far as any of us can tell." Odin gave the trickster a long, hard stare as Loki raised his chin under the All-Father's scrutiny. "I am overjoyed for you to be home. And I welcome Darcy Lewis to this house as a mortal that has shown extraordinary courage, as a friend to you and your brother, or as more. Should your wayward nature lead you astray again, it will only be yourself I will allow you to take with you, for she will be under our protection as well."

Loki clenched his teeth at the implication that she would ever need protection from him. A sharp retort came to his lips until he saw the absolute sincerity in his father's eyes. Unbidden, from either his mind or the scepter, he felt the phantom sensation of a warm thick liquid running down his fingers. He blinked to see Darcy bent over his scepter as she looked up at him with tears in her fading blue eyes. He said nothing in response to the declaration.

"Then what now?" Loki asked. "The humans are probably doing everything they can to turn her into a blubbering lunatic in their attempt to remove whatever is in her mind. When will she be allowed into Asgard?" Odin smiled, despite the gravity of the situation.

"Oh, if I had to guess," Odin said, "I would say Heimdall is already getting his first introduction to the new addition to the Eternal Realm about now."

* * *

Tony stood with a deceptively placid look on his face, one hand in his pocket and a cup of coffee in the other. The cheap, hospital coffee was more something to hold than to drink, and was not nearly the caliber Pepper required. Banner and the surgeon had come in not half an hour before, telling him that removing the device had gone as successfully as they could have hoped. The small plate located at the base of her skull had been sent to the lab for study. She was in recovery where they were attempting to monitor her neural activity to make sure there was no lasting damage.

The unfamiliar swell of fear seemed to wrap around the arc reactor in his chest as he waited alone in a comfortable waiting room that had been set aside for him. Banner had left to get them something to eat. It hadn't escaped Stark's notice that his friend had joined Pepper in the task of keeping him fed and going to sleep since Darcy's disappearance. Banner seemed to have picked up the rest of the load in his girlfriend's absence. He couldn't exactly remember who had brought him coffee, but he had a pretty solid guess, as he set the cup on the table.

As he stared at the cold, industrial tile of the waiting room, the sound of high heels approaching made his ears perk up. About four inch ones, if he had to guess. The rapid, hurried pace. The heavy, sure footfalls of a light frame. There was only one person he knew with that walk. He turned to head towards the door just as Pepper burst through, her blonde hair floating around her head until her eyes finally landed on him. A sigh of relief escaped her as she ran to him, and he to her, her heels clacking even more quickly.

"Tony," she breathed out, her arms wrapping around his neck as he squeezed his eyes together.

"I'm not even going to complain about the fact that you came back in less than a day and you had no idea we knew what was wrong," he answered, squeezing her willowy frame to him as he took a deep breath from her hair.

"Tony, I had to come back," she said, pulling away, more serious than he had ever seen her. And Pepper was usually pretty serious. "Stark Tower was compromised last night. The plane had to turn right around." Tony blink once. Then twice as he stared into Pepper's eyes.

"Did you just say my building was compromised?" he asked. "What do you mean compromised? Why didn't you call"

"I'm sorry. I've been on the phone every second trying to figure out what went wrong. I mean, the power has been cut off from the building in the past few hours. Doors can even open. People were trapped inside and we had to cut out a few doors. The arc reactor has been attacked, and no one knows how. JARVIS was shut down. Even the back up power doesn't work. I tried to send out a few employees to check out the reactor site. Tony, they've gone missing. "

"No, you see, that can't have happened. Right now, I am at a hospital waiting for my youngest employee to come out of _brain_ surgery, hoping she isn't a vegetable for the rest of her life. It is almost physically impossible for things to be even more wrong." Pepper shook her head in that way that showed she wanted to agree with him, but could not.

"Denial won't fix this, Tony" Pepper said. "I don't know what's going on, but I doubt its good." Tony breathed heavily.

"Shaw," Stark said.

"You think he would risk openly attacking you?"

"I-" He paused, putting his hands on his hips as he breathed deeply. "I don't know. Thor and Loki are gone. If he is involved, I'd feel better if they came with me to check to see what's going on." Pepper nodded, trying her best to keep her nerves in check for the sake of Tony's. She tossed a quick look towards the door opposite the one she came through.

"I caught Bruce downstairs." she said. "He told me what you guys found. I'm so sorry, Tony. Do you know what it is?"

"Even SHIELD can't tell right off. They've taken it and are trying to figure it out. I'm sure they'd _love_ a mind control device. They found a dangerous level of adrenaline pumping through her body even at rest, and a lot of other stuff Bruce overheard them talking about. I just know they dug that thing out of her, and now we're all just hoping she's still capable of human speech. I swear, if _one_ more things goes wrong-"

It was an incredibly loud crash that ended his threat prematurely. The entire building shook, and every other soul on the floor screamed. Tony's arm instinctively went around Pepper.

"You were saying?" she asked nervously, as thunderous commotion still echoed from somewhere on the floor. Stark looked down the hall through the doors to see debris and clutter blowing out of one of the rooms.

"Darcy," Tony whispered, taking off down the hall, the doors swinging behind him as he got to the room he knew to be hers and held up his arms to keep random debris from hitting his face. He saw the nurse at the station ducking down behind the desk, also trying to keep safe as the IV stand came flying out the room, an unusual wind coming from inside. Hands held up defensively, he peeked into the room as Pepper stayed close the wall.

Of all of the things Tony had expected to see, Darcy being lifted by a beam of some kind of strange energy that had ripped a hole through the wall of her room was not one of them. Debris swirled around her form, although when it neared her it seemed to slow down, as if time itself wrapped around her form. A bright glow emitted from the beam entering the room as what looked like elegant metal chainmail formed from the light and wrapped around her thin limbs. The last thing he saw before time seemed to catch up again around her was her eyes opening and looking at him: both the normal crystal clear blue. A sudden force pushed him back with a final loud pop. He saw Pepper scream and collapse to the floor out the corner of his eye as he crashed into the nurse's table.

All was quiet.

He vaguely heard Darcy mumble a pained "son of a bitch" under her breath.

He recovered quickly, immediately climbing to his feet and rushing back to a much more quiet room. He saw Darcy's back to him, her hair hanging in shining, waving tresses with no evidence of the wound on her head. He watched as she turned, her face and skin completely returned to its natural peach, her skin glowing with some sort of ethereal radiance. Her hospital gown was gone, a light, silver armor with blue fabric accenting it was left in its wake, very similar to Thor and Loki's. He watched as she looked down at her hands and felt her face, and then looked back at him, eyes wide.

"My compliments to the SHIELD plastic surgery team," she said hesitantly. "Please tell me _this_ was covered by my insurance." A chuckle choked in his throat, a tear threatening to fall.

"Consider it your Christmas bonus," he said calmly. "You are on your own for the holidays." Darcy's lip quivered as she stared at him, remembering all too clearly where the claw marks across his face had come from. He took one step towards her before she launched herself at him. Tony wondered if she had somehow picked up how to teleport from her boyfriend god, because he didn't even see her get there before she was in his arms and he wrapped her in a giant hug, her smooth, bare arms almost crushing his neck. Had she always been that strong?

"Okay, okay," Tony choked out. "No boss, no paycheck," he managed to say. She let him go quickly as he struggled to breath, a genuine look of concern on her face.

"Sorry!" she said as he brought his hand to his chest, rubbing it a bit. Pepper suddenly appeared around the corner, deeming it safe to enter the completely destroyed room while the morning sun peeked through the almost complete absence of a wall on the fifth story of the hospital. They had a pretty good view of the skyline outside. "Pepper!" she said.

"Easy there," Tony said as Darcy and Pepper embraced, the younger one taking care to be gentle.

"Well, I've officially decided to stop asking what in the hell is going on here. No one gives me any answers anyway," Tony said. Darcy smiled nervously, looking down at herself.

"I wish I had some myself," she said shrugging in confusion, frowning when the light streaming into the room suddenly became very bright again. Darcy's frown deepened and she stepped towards the light as an ethereal golden beam began to swirl in mid-air in the center of the room, growing and growing until a strange disk of light stood swirling before them. "Although I think I know where I am going to get them," she said, not taking her eyes from the portal. The three of them stood silently as the portal continued to swirl around, strange images of an unspeakably beautiful realm flickering within the light. None of them said a word for several moments.

"It looks like they are waiting for you over there," Pepper said. Darcy turned back to her, and then looked at Tony.

"I don't know what any of this means," she said. "I don't know what to do."

"You'll figure it out, kid," Tony said. "For now, I think you should get going. They don't strike me as the type you want to keep waiting." Darcy looked down at herself again, then back up to Tony and Pepper.

"I've hurt everyone," she whispered. "So badly." Stark clenched his teeth discreetly, taking a deep breath through his nostrils.

"I think we can handle it this one time," he said. She nodded, a grateful, pained smile forming on her lips. She hugged him again, his arms coming around her even more fully this time as she fought to keep herself from squeezing him. She pulled away, breathing deeply as she looked at Pepper once more before turning to step back toward the swirling portal. She hesitated, uncertain of how it was supposed to work.

"Darcy," Tony called. She turned her head to look back at him. "Shaw's making his final move here. If your cowboy's over there, don't take too long making up, you hear me?" Darcy, through her uneasiness, managed to grin.

"I'll try not to," she said. And she stepped through the golden light.

* * *

It was a strange sight, watching Darcy make her way down the rainbow bridge. Loki's breath caught in his throat as soon as he teleported halfway to the observatory, seeing her slowly walk towards the city. The blue hues and markings no longer marked her fair complexion, her eyes free from both the red of the Frost Giants and the film of his control. He took in the Asgardian attire Odin had fashion for her, admiring the way the light silver metal shaped perfectly to her curves. Unlike Sif's there was no illusion of a skirt, only random strips of mail over leather. Across her abdomen, light plate overlapped leather with a deep, royal blue color intertwined throughout. Her brunette locks shone like rich chocolate, her favorite delicacy which he had come to admire in Midgard. It hung in flawless waves down to her waist and he longed to touch it.

She looked absolutely breathtaking.

He watched as her eyes, absent of her glasses, seemed transfixed on the sky above as she walked towards him, unaware she was doing so. He slowly let her approach him until she finally looked forward, her eyes meeting his. She came to a halt, stopping almost ten feet in front of him as her eyes widened, her full, pink lips parting slightly.

"You're here," she said simply, surprise clearly in her voice.

"As are you," he replied. She looked at the scepter in his hands before casting her eyes to the side, a pained expression on her face as several torturous moments, tense with unspoken longing, stretched between them.

"I couldn't get many answers outta that guy back there," she said hesitantly, indicating back to the Observatory with her head. "I don't really know what to make out of my new LARPing outfit." Loki let a hesitant smile cross his features. He had no idea what she was talking about, but he had longed to hear her say something ridiculous for quite some time.

"Your reward," Loki replied. "For your role in my reinstatement and for your display of patience, courage, and discernment." He lifted the scepter just slightly to indicate it. "You are to be rewarded with a place among the Aesir. You have been given the blessing of Asgard by the All-Father himself and may remain in his kingdom as his subject, and one day Thor's council."

Her eyes searched his as he slowly made his way to her, closing the gap between them.

"Does that mean I'll..." she paused.

"You could live forever," he said. "If you choose." Her eyes widened.

"Why?" she asked softly. "I've spent the last three weeks not knowing if I wanted to live one more second." She paused. "Let alone forever," Loki swallowed.

"You don't need to decide now," he said. "It was your boon, and you may use it as you see fit. You were tested because I," his voice cracked, sounding more like a whisper, "love you." He paused. "But it was you who earned it."

"Is that what you want?" she asked. "For me to live forever?"

"What is it that you want, Darcy?" he asked in return.

"I just want to kiss you again," she said. He was holding her before she could blink, his scepter clattering at their feet, his lips taking hers as he wrapped his long arms around her. The relief of being close to him again with her mind free was so perfect it hurt. Tears streamed down her cheeks when his hands came up, tracing her jawline with his thumbs as he continued to kiss her softly, his mouth gently moving against hers in the sweetest agony she could remember.

"Loki," she whispered, more emotions than she could count filling her voice as he pulled her to him, one hand resting on her back and the other cupping the back of her head. He felt her begin to shake as she clung to him tightly, burying her face in his neck.

"I've got you Darcy," he whispered. "Loki has you."

"I don't know how to handle this," she said. "I don't feel like I can ever handle anything ever again. We had just-" She paused, shaking more violently. "We were so close. I've done terrible things. I've said terrible things. I can't tell what's me and what was _that_ anymore. It's all one, big, awful nightmare. I tried _killing_ you. I don't know what to-"

"No," Loki said, forcing himself to pull away to look at her. "You did nothing that cannot be undone. You are safe now, with me. I swear it, Darcy." He lifted his hands to gently wipe away her tears. " I would spend the rest of your life making you feel safe again." He embraced her again when she closed her eyes, allowing more tears to fall.

"That could be long time," she said.

"We have all the time you want," he said. "But we don't have to decide that now. Come. Let us go to my home. I have longed to see you there for longer than I care to remember, and there is someone I wish you to meet."


	36. Chapter 36

"That Heimdall's a talker, huh? Couldn't get a word in edgewise around that guy. _Not_."

"He keeps his attention on guarding the realm and is not easily distracted," Loki replied. "He might also be a bit sore about me freezing him with the Casket when I was king. It is entirely possible you might be subject to an even more severe silent treatment than most for a short while."

"You just make friends everywhere, don't you?"

The loud rushing water and sound of the waking Asgardian wildlife provided a calming backdrop as the two of them made their way down the bridge back to the palace. Loki could have teleported them: they were both aware of this. Even with the situation being as urgent as it was, he could not bring himself to cut short the walk back. As deeply in thought as Darcy seemed to be while they made their way down the rainbow bridge, the new Aesir did not seem to mind. Her brows, now lacking in the cerulean discoloration, were gently drawn together in silent contemplation. He wanted to touch her, even just for a moment, to believe that she was really there, neither under his thrall nor trying to kill him. Even knowing that neither of those were true, he still felt a chasm stretching between them and he desperately wanted to vault it before it became any wider.

Gripping his scepter tightly in his left hand, he let his right tenderly touch the inside of hers, extending a gentle invitation. She looked up at him, then back at his hand, as if confused as to what to do. Slowly, she moved in closer to him, allowing him to gingerly circle her waist to rest his hand on her hip. It was comforting to feel her close to him, though it was strange touching Asgardian metal beneath his fingers rather than her usual soft cotton.

"Not worried I will ruin your reputation?" she asked softly, her mind still clearly elsewhere. He let himself smile discreetly.

"I sincerely doubt you could accomplish such a thing. I would say sneaking in an enemy to my father's sleeping chamber, putting my mother in danger, trying to eradicate an entire planet and enslave another did the job credibly." A humorless chuckle escaped her as she tried to ignore the strange emotion she heard in his voice. It was the first time he ever sounded as if he truly regretted anything he had ever done.

"Again with the making friends everywhere. I guess I should have asked you a few more of these questions before we got together, huh?"

"Darling, considering how we met, I think you were plenty well informed on the the poor decision you were making."

"True enough," she replied, her quiet demeanor returning. Loki had been happy to keep her engaged. This new, taciturn creature was one with which he would have to grow more comfortable.

"Are you well?" Loki asked. "If Odin made you an Aesir, I imagine it can be very..."

"Freaky?" she finished.

"I believe you have used that word in lieu of the word I sought."

"I feel like I'm looking at an LED television, and I'm not even wearing my glasses. Everything is loud. It's just making me a little dizzy. And I'm starving. Plus whatever tractor beam your dad used woke me up. I just feel like I'm slowly being pulled apart. A few hours ago I felt like I was freezing myself from the inside, and now I feel like I'm about to explode with trying to take everything in." She reached to feel the back of her head. "Well, at least that's not there anymore."

"I only recall one mortal being made an Aesir in the past few centuries. I recall the heightened senses being disconcerting at first for him. I shall make sure you are given ample time to rest. My father will, of course, wish to speak with you, though I am sure that he would be willing to wait until this evening. We both had a very long day yesterday." Darcy looked up at him uncomfortably before nodding.

" He just told me he'd basically owe me one. I didn't realize that meant making me immortal." Loki smiled.

"Being called the All-Father does come with its advantages," he replied.

"So..." she trailed off. He waited for her to finish. "You're... happy... about it?" she asked hesitantly. Loki tightened his hold on her hip just a bit, pulling her to him.

"It was met with no small bit of joy when my father told me you were being tested after you were taken, in spite of my concern," he replied. "How could you think otherwise?"

"Well, I mean, I just-" she looked at the iridescent floor of the rainbow bridge, either in thought or amazement. "You signed up when I was mortal," she said hesitantly. "You'd have of a few decades that you'd have to deal with me, max, and that was if we even... I mean, we never even had time to _talk_ about what this was and now this happens?" He could see the tears she was trying to desperately hold in breaking the surface. "I didn't know if you had anything to do with this or not, or if it was some kind of power play between the two of you and you'd resent me for it...Everything is just happening so fast." He could hear pain in her voice, and it tore at his insides. Even now she was fraught with fear and uncertainty. He leaned down and pulled her closer, pressing a tender kiss to her temple, which she received with great contentment.

"Nothing is done here without purpose, Darcy," he said. "If you choose to stay in Asgard, you will need to grow used to it. Odin has too much power to be careless with it. But, in spite of what I would like to think of him, I do not believe anything he has done regarding you has been with malicious intent. He has spoken only with admiration regarding you, and I cannot pretend it does not please me. He might have given you a closer look because of my affection for you, but he offered you a place in Asgard for his own reasons. Had you been someone else, I am not sure he would have extended the same honor." He leaned in even closer before teleporting them to his room.

"Dammit, Loki, what I'd tell you about doing that without warning me!" she said, exasperated, wiping her eyes. He smiled, pleased her annoyance distracted from her from her insecurity for at least a moment. She looked as if she would continue until her surroundings caught her attention. The rather exquisite bedroom reeked of Loki's taste as she looked around, her eyes falling on the rich, green bedding of a bed the size of her bedroom. She arched a brow at him, even though she had to wipe her eyes again. "This is your room, I take it?"

"This is actually my first time in it in several years," he said. "I had not even had the time to see it. But yes. This was my room." He watched her as she left his side, curiously inspecting the various shelves of books, small projects, and spells he had been working on before Thor's banishment. His eyes travelled to the notebooks on his desk. Every scrap was exactly as he remembered leaving it. Nothing had been moved, and everything was clean. Someone had taken care of his things.

It was almost touching.

He watched as she walked over to his desk, absently picking notes from what seemed like so long ago strewn somewhat tidily on his desk. He smiled. Of course Darcy wouldn't ask for permission. He let his clothes transform to a more simple shirt and pants, though it was more like his Asgardian "lying around clothes," as Darcy put it. He allowed himself to recline on his bed, a strange sensation overcoming him as he allowed the familiarity to envelop his senses as he sent out a duplicate of himself to inform his mother that he had retrieved Darcy and they would rest until the evening. He dutifully ignored the fine arched brow against which he never had a defense, grateful she could not see the coloring in his real body's face. Still, she had nodded gracefully, telling him she would hold off Thor and Odin after their meeting with Mammoth.

Her words had reminded him that he needed to tell Darcy of the Frost Giant's presence there. She had been the one to encourage him to spare his life and enlist his assistance, but that did not mean they were sudden friends, especially after what Mammoth had done. Loki gritted his teeth as he retrieved his duplicate and watched Darcy running her hands idly over the collection of volumes he had kept in his room. The sight of her thin fingers touching and inspecting books he had held for centuries moved him somehow as she turned around to face him.

"Alfheim Myths and Legends?" she questioned. He frowned, as the book and title was not written in Midgardian.

"Since when are you able to read Ancient Asgardian?" he questioned. She looked up at him, her expression a bizarre combination of amusement and haunted fear.

"You taught me some of it," she said, placing the book on the desk, walking towards him. She did not see him move the book back to its place on the shelf behind her back as she came to stand before him on the bed. "You said it would be better to stay occupied. That madness comes from pain when you have nothing to distract you from it. When you can never imagine it stopping. When there is no hope: that was when you said I would slowly start falling apart, and that you didn't want that to happen. I guess it wasn't you. Maybe just whatever was left of you in the Tesseract. Some weird mix of both of us. You taught me everything I could absorb, in my mind, with that buzzing around in my head." She looked toward the scepter. "I'd probably stand a better chance of beating you at chess now." Her voice cracked on the word 'chess' and she spun around, covering her mouth with her hands as the tears began falling once more, her breath coming in heaves.

Loki was behind her in an instant, though still unsure what she needed. He tentatively reached a hand out to her shoulder, but she continued to shake, her sobs growing more vocal in spite of her attempts to smother them as she almost crumpled to the floor. Throwing the tense civility held between them out the proverbial window, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her next to him. When her back made contact with his chest he scooped her up, her much healthier looking form still easy in his arms. She didn't even struggle as he carried her over to his bed, laying her down with himself beside her.

He had seen her cry before. They were usually subtle episodes she tried to hide. He supposed it was just as well, as there was never an occasion where he had less of an idea what to do with himself as when Darcy was upset. Completely unrestrained grief was something with which he was more familiar than he cared to recognize, but seeing Darcy in such a state was both foreign and unbearable for him. Her body shook with each breath as she buried her face in his neck and he held her tightly, slowly peeling away her new armor with his magic to leave a blue sleeping shift behind for her. The tenseness within her was even more apparent to him with metal no longer between their bodies. He could feel every quake of her muscles as her tears soaked his collar, and he resigned himself to be as still as possible, letting his hand run up and down her back.

"Don't worry, love," he said gently, his voice devoid of all humor, "we both know you will never beat me at chess." She wept harder, and he said nothing else.

* * *

"We have been told by Heimdall that several mutants, similar to the ones SHIELD encountered at Darcy's abduction, have been found at the Iron Man's power source," Thor said. "Not only that, but we have have been unable to see Shaw, even now with you not there to guard him. How is he doing this?"

"I inscribed the walls of Shaw's lair with ancient runes that would guard against enemy eyes," Mammoth replied somberly. "It was not necessary that I be there. It is within the Midgardian kingdom known as New York, though quite a distance from the main citadel."

"And you will tell us all you know of his plan?" Thor questioned. Mammoth shifted uncomfortably, crossing his arms over his chest, looking back and forth between Thor and Odin.

"In exchange for your aid in the event of his promised retribution against Jotunheim, yes," Mammoth replied.

"I give you my word you will have our aid against Shaw, if you prove to be true," Thor vowed. "If you know enough, we should be able to take him down before he can strike."

"I accept your word, and shall be grateful of your acceptance of mine, but your enemy is more powerful than you can know," Mammoth replied grievously. "It is why I sought his aid when I found him dwelling in secret in Midgard, knowing our interests would be so closely tied." He paused, a deep loud breath filling and leaving his lungs. "Darcy is but one of many humans he has transformed in such a way. He has a small army of mutants, many of whom have terrible power, some even equal to your _Avengers_." He paused. "He has kidnapped many agents from the organization known as SHIELD and other tribes run by The Council. The secrecy of them allowed many of them to disappear without notice, I learned. He has them in stasis in his laboratory. Using the blood of his small army, he has made it bigger. He has made more mutated humans. Thousands more. All of them have a device in their head for his control."

"His control?" Odin questioned as the door to the meeting room opened. Frigga, her elegant gown flowing behind her, floated into the room. She gave the Frost Giant a coldly respectful nod, but turned her attention to her husband and son.

"Your brother requests a pardon for himself and Darcy this morning." Her eyes fell on Mammoth ever so slightly at the mention of Darcy's name. "He says that it would be best for them to join you this evening." Thor knew he would feel better with his brother at his side, but also thought it might be better to let him stay away from the discussion. It was no secret that it had taken enormous self restraint for Loki to deliver Mammoth in one piece: it was best not to tempt fate. In the midst of any other discussion, Thor would have thought it amusing for their mother to soften Loki's words, as always. He doubt Loki "requested a pardon" for anything. Before anyone could respond, Frigga retreated, her short golden train disappearing around the door behind them.

"Darcy was not like the others," Mammoth continued in the silence of the queen's departure. "We were driven from his lab to keep them from finding it. Her chip, as Shaw called it, was not able to unite with his Midgardian machine that was meant to control her."

"Midgardian machine?" Thor asked. "You mean computers?"

"Yes," Mammoth said. "He plans on being able to control his army over great distances and with terrible efficiency through their chips. He called hers a 'Chaos Model.' She was meant to destroy and distract, not requiring central control. He told me he has many different models for his army, each giving them a certain function. But he needs a great deal of energy to bring them all out of stasis and link them with his command."

"And that is why he needed the Tesseract," Thor confirmed. "And now that he has no chance of getting to it without you, he now seeks the Iron Man's creation." Mammoth nodded.

"Even if it is not as powerful as the Tesseract, it very well could manage the task. If he is able to use it to wake his army, I fear it may be too late for Midgard. With such an army, I cannot imagine there would be anything to stop him then. It would only be a matter of time before he came after the Tesseract as well."

* * *

Darcy was surprisingly pain-free when she felt her eyes crack open. How she had fallen asleep -namely, her crying until she couldn't breathe anymore- flooded her memory like a nightmare, but the oppressive weight that she had felt on her shoulders since her capture seemed just a little bit lighter. She slowly let her eyes flutter open as she realized she was carefully wrapped in the arms of a sleeping trickster god, who still seemed to be in the middle of slumber himself. Her nose was not stuffy and she didn't feel like she had been hit by a mack truck, which was how she normally felt after crying herself to sleep.

She let her head fall back down on Loki's shoulder, enjoying the feeling of the incredibly comfortable mattress beneath them, something she had not fully appreciated before she had basically passed out, combined with the pleasant warmth radiating from the even more pleasant body next to her. She inhaled deeply, Loki's scent ridiculously distinct in her nostrils, which she found more than a little creepy. It felt like every one of her senses had been turned up to eleven. She could hear his heart beating within his chest slowly and steadily just beneath her ear, though it was louder than it had been before. She almost want to fall asleep again when she let her hand come to rest on his stomach, the contact with firm muscle beneath her fingers waking her up more fully.

She didn't understand why she felt a wall between them when Loki appeared to have to no such reservations. She had spent all of her energy trying to kill them, and he acted as if she had done no wrong. She had been kidnapped for three weeks, scared to her core that she would be killed or worse, endured being beaten, starved, and experimented on. That was nothing to say of memories she still had of wanting to destroy everything she ever loved, even if she knew them to be manufactured. She could still almost feel being overwhelmed with fear and hatred for everything, and she still felt like she was a visitor in her own body. She was glad that whatever mojo Odin had put on her had taken the blue away. She did not know how she would have handled that, even if Loki acted like he barely noticed.

The thought of Odin then brought up all of the other unanswered questions: namely, what was she going to do about this whole immortality business. Live forever? She did not really fit the bill of the type of person to live forever. She wasn't super-smart or super-brave or super-strong -well, maybe super-strong now if she was an Asgardian- so why? She didn't get what Loki meant by Odin making her immortal for his own reasons. And where did that leave her with Loki? Were they supposed to get married or something now? As much as she had, no, _did_ love him, he didn't strike her as the forever and ever type. With her life a blink of an eye compared to his, she hadn't worried about it. But now they were equals, kind of, and they had _just_ said that they loved each other a few weeks ago, before her world had been torn apart even more than it already had. Becoming immortal was kind of a drastic move before they had even had a date as an actual couple. But she didn't have to decided anything yet, he had told her. Staying immortal was not the equivalent of them getting married, and she didn't have time to even think about all that. Not with Shaw making his final move, whatever that was.

As if he had detected her thoughts in his sleep, she heard his heart speed up beneath her ear, could hear his breath change in cadence, and she knew he was awake. She could not see his face, but they both lay in a calm silence for many minutes before either of them spoke. She thought of their kiss on the bridge. He had not told her he wanted her to stay immortal with him, he had asked what _she_ wanted, and she had wanted something she knew. Their kiss had not been the passionate storm of emotion it usually was. It had a mixture of longing and sadness and confusion with the balm of familiarity covering it. When his lips had touched hers, she had truly realized that her capture was over. She was there. He still loved her. Still wanted her. He had allowed nothing to change between them, even though so much was changing within her. Perhaps there was one advantage to having a morally ambiguous boyfriend: no matter how far she sank, he would always know what is was like to have gone just a little bit further.

"I thought you liked turning all of my clothes _green_," she said softly, looking down at the chemise that was distinctly Asgardian and distinctly the same dark blue as had been in her armor. Would she ever change clothes like a normal person again?

"I suppose it is time you have colors of your own," he replied, gently. "Though, I still have my mark on your underthings." She smiled against him as she slowly pushed herself up, looking down to find him looking quite content in his own giant bed, his arm forming a pillow for himself behind his head while other remained forming circles on her hip as she sat next to him, propped up on her arm.

"Thank you," she said simply, forcing herself to truly look at him. She searched the green orbs staring at her for any of the contempt she had dreaded from the moment she realized what Shaw had done to her, but there was none.

"Indeed, my love," he said. "It was a refreshing change to the be the one holding it together this time, though I would not grow accustomed to this mature side I seem to have formed. I find it incredibly dull to be the one on this side of sanity. I think it suits you much better than I." She smiled at the sight of genuine mirth twinkling in his eyes, his perfect teeth arranged in a smug grin. It was almost laughable. She had spent the past day trying to claw his eyes out, quite literally, and he acted as if it had been some benign lover's spat and all was well now.

Maybe he was a little crazy.

Still, she found herself grinning, grateful for the lightness in her heart as she leaned down to kiss him, refusing to think of the consequences.

Loki also seemed none-too interested in consequences as he came alive beneath her, his stomach muscles clenching beneath her hands as he used the arm wrapped around her to pull her on top of him. She felt as if a line caught aflame from her chest down to other areas as his mouth moved against hers, somehow both compliant and unyielding at the same time. She felt one hand fist into her hair and his other at the small of her back, pressing the previously mentioned_ other_ places against his _other places_ with not a hint of reservation. She supposed it _was_ like riding a bike, as her knees fell apart to straddle his legs and her fingers found the hem of his tunic to pull it over his head while he sat upright.

He let not a moment pass before he captured her mouth again. Even as he slipped the straps of her chemise down, his mouth did not leave hers to explore the rest of the curves her body had to offer that he so enjoyed. When she finally slipped her tongue past his lips, she felt something in him snap as the remainder of their clothes was gone with a wave of his hand and she suddenly found herself beneath him as he gently sucked on her tongue. She could not hold back the moan against his mouth as he hooked one of her legs over his hip. Their heartbeats thumped in her ears, their heavy breaths mingled within the space between them. She could smell the arousal from both of their bodies acutely, but at that moment, she found it far from creepy. There was only one sense she had not been able to test yet. She leaned up to lick a path from his collarbone to his ear as he hissed in pleasure. She smiled against his cheek when he pulled her tighter as she decided yes, she could get used to the whole Asgardian thing.


	37. Chapter 37

Darcy sleepily reached her hands out for her glasses on the nightstand only find that there was no nightstand, just more mattress, and she didn't need her glasses as she cracked open her eyes. A heavy sigh laced with mixed feelings escaped her as she felt an arm curl around her middle. A smile spread across her lips as she brought her fingers up to run them down his forearm. Everything about where she was suddenly felt wonderful and right, a warm swell of contentment filled her chest despite the chaos swirling around in her mind, and she debated on whether or not to go back to sleep. They had already taken long enough to rest. She looked up at the window. Even the curtains seemed to be moving in slow motion. Thor and Odin would be waiting for them soon. She wanted time to just slow down. To give her a few more hours to try to gather what was left of her courage. Her new lifestyle would apparently grant no such luxury.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any to warn you," Loki said softly behind her. "Mammoth is here, in the palace." She made no move to answer for several long moments as she curled her small hand around his larger one on her stomach.

"I know," she said. "Why else would I be here?" The rhetorical question sounded foreign on her lips, though Loki said nothing in reply. "Is he going to help us?"

"We are his smartest option," he said matter-of-factly. Darcy smiled.

"A point of view I'm sure you were able to help him seem," she replied with quiet mirth in her voice. "My silver-tongued prince." She turned around in his arm to face him, letting her head rest against the incredibly soft pillow. She liked seeing him smile at the one nickname she had for him.

"A trait you did not seem to mind mere hours ago," he said, a wicked grin playing across his lips as he pulled her atop him. He watched as she smiled at first, but it slowly faded as the weight of what would greet them outside of his room suddenly shifted onto her shoulders. He lifted up his hand, brushing his finger against her cheek as she let her eyes drift closed. "You have power in your veins now," he said. "More than you could ever imagine." Her brows furrowed together, eyes remaining shut as she tried to take comfort in the touch.

"So does Shaw," she replied, her voice strained. "I don't know how we could ever get him. Thor or Hulk's strength would just give him more power. So would Tony's suit. If you hit him, he just breaks apart and comes back together."

"Where the arm fails, the mind succeeds," Loki replied. "Your powers will be like mine, of the intellect, for that was your strength in your mortal life. I am not certain exactly of it's nature yet. Fa-" Loki stopped himself while Darcy watched uncertainty on his face. "Odin will explain to you today, I am sure, what gift comes with your immortality, and it will no doubt help us, even if you do not have time to practice full control over it. If we cannot defeat Shaw physically, we must find a way to have him defeat himself." It pained her to hear him still struggle to call Odin 'father.' He no longer corrected himself in anger, but it hesitation. Even then, he feared rejection from the man he feared the most. It was so obvious to her now how much Odin and Frigga loved Loki. She had felt their longing when Frigga touched the Tesseract, trying to comfort her in her mind. She also knew it was not something easily pointed out to him.

"Never fight on ground you know you can't win?" she questioned, the words of his imprint echoing in her mind. She opened her eyes, briefly wondering if she would meet Frigga.

"'Tis always been a philosophy of mine," he replied.

"That's what you told me," she said. She looked at him as he waited patiently for her to continue, curiosity shining in his eyes. "When Shaw had me. When he was trying to break into my mind. You, or some version of you, told me to let it go and just hide part of myself so I could still come back when I was safe."

"Yes, I saw your construct when I received the scepter," he said. "Very impressive, actually. Creating a representation of the Tesseract for you to understand and control, even just a fraction of it, took no small amount of willpower. The scepter helped, no doubt, but impressive all the same. I believe there was some promise you made me, or yourself, whatever it was, to rub the Tesseract over me, or something to that effect?" Darcy smiled in a mixture of fondness and discomfort. Revisiting her time trapped in her mind was not so pleasant. She shrugged.

"I didn't need your attitude at the time," she said arrogantly, leaning down to kiss him soundly. His hand tried sneaking down her leg and she smiled against his lips, catching his fingers in hers. She lazily rolled off of him, wrapping herself up in one of the sheets of his bed as she stood. "What did you do with my weird clothes? I doubt Thor will be very pleased if I show up to a meeting with Odin in a nightie." Loki smiled as he came to stand next to her, requiring no security of a sheet. She arched an eyebrow at him as he smirked, coming to stand before her and pulling her covering down. Purposefully, he wrapped his long fingers around her sides. She froze as she felt her armor given to her by Odin slowly molded onto her skin, the weight of it returning to her. Loki's green and black leather slowly returned as well. A hint of disappointment sprung up in her mind as she saw his bare chest disappear. He laughed at her pout.

"The feeling is mutual, my dear," he said, leaning down to kiss her lips tenderly as she twined her arms around his neck, pulling him down and closer so she could rest her chin on his shoulder. He had to hunch down quite a bit. Apparently, height didn't come with the godly package.

"I thought I would never be able to kiss you again," she said quietly. "Or hold you like this. I was afraid to let go, because I thought I'd never find a way back. You were still there for me, even then. I would never have made it if part of you hadn't been there."

"You'd survive anything, I'm quite certain, with or without my help," he said, cupping the back of her head as he pulled her close. "But you will never have to do without it again."

"I guess we have a super-villain to stop now," she said against his shoulder, an uneasy sigh escaping her lungs. "Tony said Shaw is making his final move, but I didn't bother getting the details. I figured Heimgar would know."

"Heim_dall_, my dear," he said as she pulled back to look at him. "Will it forever be your plight to be one syllable away from pronouncing something properly?"

"It's a good thing I will have you around to correct me," she said easily. Loki smiled a large, genuine grin, as far as she could tell, and turned to stand in line with her, holding his arm out elegantly.

"Shall we?" he asked. She took his arm awkwardly as he guided her to his bedroom door.

"Are we playing a gentleman and a lady now after you just had your tongue in my-"

"Sh, darling, we mustn't disturb the hall. Our guards must remain vigilant to their duties," he said smoothly as he guided them out of the room. Darcy forced herself to bite back a laugh, letting the comment go, even at the sight of a virtually empty hallway.

"What, not teleporting this time?" she said as he guided her through the tall golden halls of the palace. In spite of her comment, she could not take her eyes off of everything. Loki watched with no small amount of satisfaction as she gazed in amazement at the walls of his home, even though a small twinge went off in his stomach as the word "home" rang in his mind.

"My father's study is not far," he said, leading her down the hall. "I thought you might enjoy seeing the walk there. I do occasionally choose to use travel the old-fashioned way."

"No kidding," Darcy said quietly, her attention clearly elsewhere. Loki let himself be pleased as she remained surprisingly silent in her wonder. Their path eventually took them out into the palace courtyard, the fall blooms assaulting Loki's senses with a ferocious tenderness. His chest tightened at the sight of the gardens, his favorite place to dwell. "If I _did_ stay an Asgardian," Darcy asked, drawing him away from his own thoughts, "would I have to leave Earth?" Loki paused, immediately wondering where the line of questioning was going.

"It is customary for the Aesir to reside here in the Eternal City," he replied carefully, "but I doubt your access to the Bifrost would be any more limited than anyone else, especially as a member of Thor's court."

"What does that mean: Thor's court? I'm not very courtly. Why wouldn't I just be a normal Aesir out polishing the Rainbow Bridge or something?" Loki smiled again as he placed his hand over hers on his arm. It was so strange for Darcy to see him so... princely. He of course had an arrogant quality about him on Earth that gave him away as some kind of nobility. He even had a strand of the chivalry Thor displayed, though it was more subtle. A polite pulling out of the chair here. A holding open the door there, though he wasn't a ginger-kiss-on-the-hand type. Loki had always painted himself as such an outcast, but here he just seemed to _fit_.

"To earn immortality is no small thing," Loki said. "You were chosen by the All-Father specifically for a task, at which you succeeded. You are friend to Thor, the future king, and my-" He paused, turning to look at her. She met his eyes with an amused but curious smirk. "You are mine," he finished.

"A bit patriarchal," Darcy mumbled, tilting her head to the side, as if to herself, though amusement twinkled in her eyes.

"Odin has told me several times you would be a part of this household," Loki continued easily. "Your role here would not be a small one, and would extended far beyond our relationship, whatever it does or does not become. It is the way Odin wanted it."

"What do you mean?"

"It means if you decide to remain and Aesir, it will be for you and you alone. You have been of greatest aid to Thor in your mortal life and will continue in the role of closely serving your king in your immortal one. Even if we were to-" he hesitated, "part ways, that would not change. Choosing immortality will not mean choosing me forever, just as staying immortal did not mean we could not be together. It just means, different options for our situation."

"So, if I decided to stay here? What would happen? Between us I mean." Loki paused to look at her, his green eyes burning so brightly, she almost gasped a bit. As quickly as it had happened, his face shifted back to his characteristically cool demeanor, and she began doubting he had ever looked any different as they continued their easy stride. He, of course, had to take smaller steps to match her pace.

"Then one day I'm going to offer you worlds," Loki replied his eyes remaining focused ahead, as if he were announcing his plans to buy a rug. Darcy smiled easily and also kept her eyes directed forward.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"More or less."

"One day? Not today?"

"Not today."

"Shame. I could use a few worlds right now."

"I suppose it is my plight that you must joke on the few occasions that I am sincere."

"Cosmic comeuppance," Darcy said, amused. "You can't expect to trick your way through the last several centuries with no question marks on your character. You changed your mind about taking over my world on a whim in the middle of the war you started. You turned on your brother whose loved you for fifty times as long as I've been alive. Am I suppose to assume I am worth some higher commitment because we happen to have awesome sex?"

"It does count considerably in your favor," he said thoughtfully.

"If only Thor had known." Loki eyed her darkly, though the brunette made no attempt to hide her barely suppressed amusement.

"You may jest if it pleases you, dearest, but I am being as earnest as you will ever find me with my plans. If you remain in Asgard, I will ask you to stay by my side permanently, when I think your Earthly sensibilities allow it. It shall not be taken lightly, like your Midgardian unions so easily broken with a few pieces of paper. We are contrast steeped in likeness, you and I. I would have fought the bowels of Helheim for you, and no one has made me want anything that much, not even Odin for his approval. All was ash when I thought you dead, and I do not fancy a repeat of that particularly dark part of my memory. If you choose not to take what I offer, I shall not begrudge you, for I am not ignorant of what is required of one bound to me. I am treacherous, Darcy, but to you, I will remain loyal. Maybe I will be so to Thor one day, perhaps. I tell you this now, so that you are not confused about my intentions, so that your decisions regarding our association may be as well informed as possible."

Darcy observed him carefully for several seconds as they came upon what she assumed was the entrance to the meeting place of Odin and Thor. She hoped beyond hope that Mammoth would not be there. She had seen him only a few times during her captivity, but that was enough.

"You couldn't just meet a nice girl from Asgard like a normal demi-god, could you?" she asked, though the humor in her voice fell short. "Had to go make one out of a mortal." Before Loki could respond, Thor, in all his red-robed glory, opened the giant doors before them, his heart-melting smile upon his face. The grin couldn't hide itself as Darcy let go of Loki's hand and ran to him, her armor heavier, but body stronger as she leapt into his arms, squeezing as tightly as she could around his neck. She was surprised there was no bone-breaking outcry of greeting from the sometimes overzealous God of Thunder. He was as quiet as she had ever heard him as he squeezed her tightly in his giant arms. She was pretty sure she was not gasping for air only because of some reinforced unearthly bone structure. She could feel her feet swinging as he had picked her up off the floor, and she knew that never before had she been so happy to see the giant blonde.

"Thank you," she whispered, the memory of Thor using his giant body, his skin burning from contact with hers, to keep her from attacking anyone when they found her on Jotunheim surfacing from her memories. He squeezed tightly once more before setting her on her feet.

"No finer addition to the House of Odin has there ever been made," Thor said grandly, turning the two of them back to Loki, who had a strange, but content smile on his face. "At my side, Darcy shall help me conquer the dangerous world of Midgardian technology."

"Truly, never have I seen such a glorious rescue from a coffeemaker as that between you two," Loki replied cooly. In spite of the heaviness in her heart, Darcy could not help her happiness unfurling. They would be facing a war again soon, but for now they were together.

"Darcy," Thor said. "The King and Queen of Asgard wait for you. Worry not. Hold your head high, and you will be fine." Darcy looked pensively at the door.

"Should I bow or something?"

"Approach them confidently. When you are about twenty feet away, fall to your right knee, resting your left forearm on your left knee, and bow your head for about five seconds before looking up to receive their greeting," Loki instructed with absolutely no irony in his voice. Darcy nodded, grateful as ever for him knowing the exact instruction she required. She waited as Loki approached her, placing a brief kiss on her forehead. One of their more chaste actions, she mused. Gently as a breeze, she heard his voice echo in her head. It had long since stopped bothering her. _I love you. Do you believe me yet?_

She took a breath as she turned. Thor easily pulled the massive door open for her and she slowly walked in. The heavy slam of the doors shutting left the two brothers in silence, an easy air falling between them as Thor crossed his arms, giving Loki an annoying smirk. Loki wished to permanently remove it from his face. Surely he could develop a spell to remove lips?

* * *

Darcy tried to keep her curiosity in check as she rounded the corner of the hall to where Thor had directed her. It clearly wasn't a huge, grand throne room, but it was the size of a small house. When she finally rounded the corner to see the two monarchs waiting for her, her breath caught in the back of her throat, and she thought she would struggle for air. Frigga stood, gleaming and regal and beautiful, her elegant golden curls cascading down her side along with her golden dress. Odin stood, even more foreboding in his armor this time, though no helmet, at least. She trembled a bit and she forced herself not to stare at the ground as she came before them, gently lowering herself on her knees exactly as Loki had instructed, bowing her head for five long seconds. When she looked up, she saw Frigga approaching her, with Odin not too far behind.

"Rise, Darcy Lewis of Midgard." Darcy slowly stood to her feet, her balance of her own body uncharacteristically steady. Her eyes went back and forth between the two of them, unsure of herself from there on out.

"You needn't be nervous, my dear," Frigga said, still not far away. "We have anxiously awaited your recovery from afar, and rejoice at your reunion with our sons, your friends." Darcy stared at Frigga, her voice bleeding into her mind like a long lost memory, soothing its way in as she spoke.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I remember you. You're the woman from the dance club. And you were in my head, when Shaw had me." Frigga nodded. "You said very nice things," she continued. "It made it easier, for a while." Darcy paused, looking to Odin. "I'm sorry, I'm still not sure what to make of all this yet," she continued, looking down at her outfit, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"You have been given a gift," Odin replied, his strong tenor echoing through the hall as he approached. "For your service to both of my sons during their stay in your realm. You may do with it as you wish. You may take the healing power I have given you with it, and return the immortality to live as you were, or you may live here as part of my house until Thor's coronation, at which you will be part of his court."

"Part of your house? So, you'd like, adopt me?" she questioned. Odin looked her over for a moment.

"It is customary for one made Aesir to be made part of a house of Asgard. It just so happens that your ties to our realm happen to be to the two princes of it. So, in a manner of speaking, yes, you would become part of our house. However your relationship with Loki would not suddenly become inappropriate; it is still a name to us."

"Is Loki here for good?" she asked. "Is his standing temporary?"

"Loki's reinstatement is secure," Odin replied. "Until such a day comes that his treachery becomes unmanageable and he requires another lesson of some sort. This was not the first time he has gotten himself into trouble, and I doubt it will be the last. However, I am relieved that the secrets between us have been revealed and that we can begin healing from that as a family. I have you to thank in no small part for that. The distance did him well. I know Thor insisted on staying at Loki's side, but I fear my younger has trouble receiving that devotion from my older." Darcy smirked, thoughts of the bickering between the two of them when they first lived together fresh in her mind.

"They love each other very much," she said. "Even though I think Loki sometimes wishes he didn't, he can't stop caring about Thor."

"They have both been causing trouble together for a thousand years. Loki could do no more without Thor than Thor without him. Loki has been the voice of reason while Thor has been the beating of the heart. I am glad to know Loki will be there for Thor when he takes the crown of Asgard, which will be soon." Darcy stared at Odin, not missing the purposeful tone behind his words. "Your decision to stay here will not be rushed, but it will need to be made. When Thor takes the crown of Asgard, you may choose to stay among his council, or return to Midgard as a human. You can make your decision before, but you need not. Until then you will be entrusted with the powers granted to you by my house."

"The strength and lack of need for Pearle Vision?" she asked. Odin blinked.

"Every member of the house of Odin carries certain responsibilities. Thor, the thunder. Loki, mischief."

"Oooooooh," Darcy said. "So I would be Darcy, Goddess of...? Please say tasers."

"Patience."

"Sorry," she said quickly, somewhat concerned. Odin looked at her confusedly while the faintest look of amusement crossed over Frigga's elegant features, though it was missed by the two other occupants of the room.

"Patience will be the force for which you will be responsible in Thor's court, as both he and Loki will need that tremendously. Your test as a mortal helped you garner it. In Asgard, you may master it." Darcy's shoulders dropped ever so slightly as she tossed a quick look to Frigga before back at Odin.

"So... my job would be to... wait? Thor calls down the lighting, Loki tricks everyone to be where he wants... and I wait really hard?"

"Your title troubles you, child?" Darcy frowned to herself, afraid she was going to sound ungrateful.

"I'm still not that patient. I don't see how I would actually be of any use to anyone."

"The power granted to you, Darcy Lewis, will give you dominion over the flow of time, to a small extent. You have learned to wait on action, and you will learn to have others now wait on you." Darcy's eyes slowly widened, not quite sure she was hearing him right. Running too quickly to Loki on the bridge. The curtains swaying too slowly in his room. It hadn't just been her imagination. She had been doing that. Good god, she thought, she didn't need that much power. What was she thinking?

"Okay," she replied, almost inaudibly, her wide eyes examining the patterns on the floor as her mind whirred through everything at once. She could slow time? For how long? Should she not do it ever? Only when necessary? What if she did it on accident?

"Do not let your mind be troubled Darcy," Frigga said, coming to wrap an arm around her. Darcy was shocked at how familiar the queen was with her, though the memory of Frigga's voice in her mind during her capture came flooding in, and she thought she might burst into tears. Darcy watched distractedly as looks that she could not read passed between the king and queen. Odin nodded regally.

"You have my leave, Darcy. For the duration of your stay with us, you are welcome in my home." Darcy felt overwhelmed, like a tightness in her chest was gathering and then releasing.

Frigga gently guided her out of the back into another courtyard on the other side from where Loki had led her in. It looked very similar, but she could tell they were in a different part of the palace. "Do not worry, my dear," the woman soothed, her gentle voice feeling as if silk was wrapping around her. "Your powers are at their infancy. It will take much discipline for you to exercise full control over them. This is in addition to the strength and vitality you will feel, compared to your mortal form. Even though you are young yet in your power, you will be very helpful in the battle against your world's current enemy." Darcy looked over at her, feeling gentle warmth around her from the slender arm on her shoulders.

"I've never even been in a fight before," Darcy said absently, looking out over the balcony to the courtyard down below. "What good will I be in a battle? I'm not like the Avengers. They save the world. I'm just the girl who makes them coffee or gives them a band-aid." Frigga smiled gently.

"Never underestimate the power of a gentle hand, Darcy," she said. "You were completely defenseless under Loki's power when he plotted against your allies, and yet it was your friendship and Thor's love that saved him, and turned him to his current path. I heard much of the conversation Thor held with Mammoth. Even he was moved to not let someone innocent suffer, as you did, and he was turned from Shaw because of you. You needn't be a hardened warrior. It is your kindness that is your weapon. That is why your powers in your new life would be nothing like that of Thor and Loki. Asgard has enough warriors. It is time for a new element."

Darcy thought she would cry. She was silent for many long minutes as she stared out into grass, afraid to speak.

"I know we have not spoken much," Frigga said, letting each of her hands rest on the younger woman's shoulders. "But... your dedication to Loki... I do not want to say thank you, as if he were some burden to be lifted..." Darcy looked up at the older woman, who seemed close to tears. "He's such a complex son. If I am grateful, it is for him to find someone whom he could trust and who could... handle his nature. I know he can be difficult to understand, but I also know he has found that gentler side with you." _Gentler side_, Darcy thought, trying incredibly hard not to laugh as her thoughts drifted to that morning. The emotion in the older woman's voice moved something strange inside of Darcy. Everything around her seemed to radiate comfort and... _mom._ Or what she imagined a mom would be like. Darcy stared back down at the courtyard.

"You must love him very much," Darcy said. "If you came to check me out, even when he was banished." Frigga nodded, smiling gently.

"Thor told me he had formed some sort of fondness for you when you were under his influence. That it was even you who might have brought him back from madness."

"Might have," Darcy said. "I think he wanted to come back more than he let on, but he had given up hope, and that is never good, especially with someone who has so much power. And there were things that happened to him. When he fell," Darcy paused. "I didn't think it right to look when I had the Tesseract, but they were not good. I know he has done a lot of wrong, including killing Coulson, but," she paused, "I think he truly wants to be better. Not exactly like Thor or even what could be called heroic. But he is noble and honorable when you need him, and that's what Thor needs."

"And you?" Frigga asked. "Is he what you need?" Darcy looked back up to Frigga, feeling the bigger question behind her words.

"Things are so different in Midgard. We don't... make big decision really fast. We only admitted that we loved each other the day before Shaw got me. And now the world is under attack, and we haven't even had enough time to just..."

"Of course not, dear, of course not," Frigga said, coming to stand in front of Darcy, removing her hands from her shoulders. "I know you are in a gap between a mortal life and an immortal one. I understand the difference between Midgardians and Aesir. That is why I tell you this, so that you may understand. In a thousand years, I have never seen Loki care as deeply about a lover as he has you. Not to say he has ever treated a woman poorly, but he has always reserved the secret depth of his heart for only his family. Until you. I know my son, and I know what he wants from you. The longer you stay immortal, or if you choose to stay an immortal, he will expect that you will want to bind yourself to him." She paused. "And he will be heartbroken if you do not. I do not wish to encourage or discourage you one way or another, but Loki's heart runs deep, even if he wishes to hide it. I do not want to see him hurt again. I wish for you to be wise in your dealings with him, no more or less, and I wish to help you in any way I can." Darcy stared at Frigga, feelings as if her secrets would pour out of her. She felt like she knew this woman both incredibly well and not at all.

"I wish I could feel as confident as you are," Darcy finally replied. "I know Loki loves me, but I'm from Midgard. He's had affairs with elf goddesses. There is nothing special about me, compared to him. I feel like one day he's going to change his mind, and I don't want to hope for more than he can give." Frigga, again, smiled gently.

"He is capable of more than you think, though I know he does not project that image for himself. But you have time," Frigga said. "Though, with you taking on the mantle of the House of Odin, there are greater things at stake now." Darcy nodded. "Come now. Heimdall and Mammoth have created a report of what is and will happen on Midgard. You must make yourselves ready." Darcy remained still for a moment.

"Your... majesty?" she said hesitantly, thinking a moment. "What would be best to call you?"

"In public, here, my queen or what you said is acceptable," Frigga replied. "In private, my name will do, until such a time that our relationship changes so that you should call me by a more intimate address." Darcy had to piece that together to figure out that she meant calling her _mom_ one day. That would be... strange. Her throat felt like it would close for a second.

"Frigga," she said, testing it out. "Thank you."


	38. Chapter 38

**CHAPTER 37**

Standing in Stark's mansion as an Asgardian was a new experience for Darcy, to say the least.

Sif and the Warriors Three being there made it no less awkward.

After Darcy had been told of her powers, her time in Asgard was brief. Loki, Jane, and Thor had been waiting anxiously when Frigga delivered her to them, leaving her to explain that she was now a Goddess of Patience, so to speak. Thor had slung an arm over her shoulder saying there was no more fitting element needed to play Loki's counterpart in his court, since whoever had to put up with him would need a deep reserve of it. Hugging Jane had felt like coming home somehow, like her time as a Frankenstein creation was over because she was allowed to hug Jane. She had not been able to hold back the few tears which had fallen, and neither had the astrophysicist. They both knew their was so much to say to each other, but no time. It felt like there was never any time. Of course she could slow time now, but she didn't quite know how to do that yet. The nine of them, Mammoth included, who was watched very closely and kept at a far distance from her and Jane, had wasted little time taking the Bifrost back to Earth. Darcy couldn't imagine Jane was too comfortable with Mammoth supposedly on their side either. She had also been attacked that night with her. Thor, for all he did to play the diplomat, must have exercised some severe control to not take his favored hammer-to-the-face approach. Darcy had to admit she was impressed.

And here they all stood: the Avengers, Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three of legend, Mammoth, the hopeful king of the Frost Giants, Jane, a Woman of Science. And her. Only she wasn't just there to make coffee or stitch someone up this time. They weren't trying to hide her in a corner. They expected her to help. It was a strange feeling. Rogers, Barton, Banner, and Romanov had taken the news that she was now a super-powered Asgardian with the ability to slow time -though, how that worked was a little rusty- surprisingly well. Seeing Natasha had brought back everything she had said to the assassin before she left. She wanted to go to her. She wanted to make everything right, with her, Steve, and Tony. She just wanted to know everything was going to be alright. But they didn't have time to talk about their feelings and make everything okay before they fought. Maybe that was something they had always endured as heroes, and she was just now learning to understand it. There were things more important than themselves that had to be tended to first. No matter what she had done, willingly or no, she was there and able to help. When Loki had turned on the Chitauri, no one demanded answers, they had accepted his help until it was over.

Sometimes, their feelings just didn't matter.

And so she was okay that everyone just kind of ignored what had gone on. They all had to if they were going to survive.

Darcy stood between Loki and Jane and avoided looking at Mammoth's massive form towering over all of them. It was weird being all in the 'plan of attack' talk. Even Sif and the Warriors Three were there, with no smaller amount of discomfort at the Frost Giant's presence. At least, the one who looked like a Frost Giant. Introductions to the four of them in Asgard had been brief, but relatively nice. Fandral had been overtly friendly and complimentary. Volstagg was boisterous and welcoming, and Sif was kind as well. Hogan was reserved, but civil.

They all seemed aware of her recent biological changes, but none seemed aware of her relationship with Loki, especially since the general air towards the God of Mischief was silent acceptance. They all knew Thor would tolerate no less. She decided it was maybe for the best that subject just not come up until everything was over. Loki had said he didn't exactly aim to make friends with them during his short reign as king, not that he had tried to antagonize them either, but they had betrayed him. (She had explained that perhaps sending a giant robot to kill a town was probably a bit of an overreaction, a town that _she_ had been in at the time. He had not been interested in defending his actions after that.) Based on the dark but non-confrontational look Loki had shot Fandral when the warrior had kissed her hand, he had similar ideas about not broadcasting their relationship. She had no idea why Loki could let her exchange sexually suggestive jokes with Tony without batting an eyelash, while apparently Steve and Fandral got the jealous streak going. Although, of course, Tony had Pepper. But Steve was the most unassuming man she had ever met, and from what Darcy remembered, Fandral had struck her as a guy who was probably friendly with a lot of women, so she thought little of it. But the warriors were willing to add themselves to their small numbers. Darcy never thought they could face anything worse than a Chitauri Army. Facing an army of superheroes wasn't exactly promising.

"Heimdall has seen the attack on Stark's source of energy," Thor said. "Shaw appears to be trying to reroute the power to his own lab in the capitol, the location of which has been given to us by Mammoth." The Frost Giant stood pensively in the corner, purposefully unconcerned with the eyes on him. "We must stop him from activating his created army. While his numbers are smaller, we stand a better chance."

"If they run on computers, then Darcy, that needs to be your primary target," Steve said. Darcy froze as she realized she was being given an order from Captain America. She nodded anxiously. "Whatever you feel like you can do with your powers, do, but don't put yourself directly into battle. You're the best chance we have of shutting Shaw down. Stark, you assist Darcy if you can, but we need you on the front lines. You, Banner, and Thor need to be in the thick of the fighting. Mammoth?" The Frost Giant raised his chin at Rogers' address. "What can you tell us about Shaw's powers? Darcy said we can't attack him directly. Do you know about the powers of his army?"

"He absorbs all energy. It is part of his mutation," Mammoth said. "Anything you will fire at him, he will simply return. In theory, he could be restrained, if it wasn't for his ability to break into diamond dust and reform at will. If I knew how to kill him I would have done it myself. The only way to kill him would be to keep him from breaking into his diamond form, for it protects him from injury. His small army is composed of many powerful mutants throughout Midgard. They may throw elements, control water or the weather, or have superior strength and speed. They are not all necessarily as powerful as Shaw, but some come very close. He uses them for their mutations. His creations, though, are like Darcy was." He turned to Darcy, who kept her arms crossed as she almost glared at Mammoth. "They are perfectly designed for destruction with the many powers combined of his followers." His eyes shifted back to Rogers. "But unlike Darcy, they have been perfectly conditioned with their chip to obey on command. Your chances will be bleak if he manages to get the energy to the cells in which he keeps them and activates their controlled minds."

"You guys heard him. No direct hits on Shaw until we figure out how to take him down. Pay close attention to who you're fighting, and makes sure no one else has similar powers that can backfire. Romanov, Barton, Do your best to take them out from afar, and keep an eye out for Darcy while she tries to shut his system down. Loki?" The trickster lifted his chin, his spine stiffened, daring the boy to attempt to issue him an order. Darcy froze, hoping to all that was good that a fight didn't break out. "You are our best chance of figuring out how to take Shaw down. Can you help us?" Darcy shifted, surprised as the lack of a command in Rogers' voice. As soon as she thought about it, just as Loki seemed as if he was almost reluctantly nodding in agreement, it made sense to her. Loki was an X factor. He would never be controlled or a solid part of the team. Rogers recognized this, and knew how to work around it. Whatever it took to get the job done, even if it meant asking for help from an enemy.

"Good, then we all know what to do."

* * *

_Never show you are afraid in battle, Darcy,_ she heard Loki whisper in her mind as they approached the facility. She could still feel uncertainty about Mammoth's intentions haunting her. It was ironic that the whole reason she had been kidnapped was to mess with Loki, as killing Loki was Mammoth's price to get Shaw into Asgard for the Tesseract, and he was now working with them. _You face what you need to face in your mind. A clever enemy can manipulate fear; you must give them no quarter to work in your head. If they get in your head, you lose. It is you who must get in their head, for that is our area._

_ You mean your area, _Darcy thought loudly enough for him to hear. She turned to see him smirk ever so slightly, though he did not look at her.

_I've seen what Shaw did to you. He is formidable, but he attacks with the mind, for he can only truly do the most damage if he is assaulted directly. You were scared of him because he showed no fear of us. No matter what happens, you pretend like you knew that it would, that it was part of your plan. _The doors to the facility were locked. Tony pulled out a laser to carve a place in the solid metal door. Most people might have tried hacking the keypad, she mused. Tony was apparently taking the more direct approach. Darcy felt her insides quiver, the sight of Tony getting them further into danger sending shivers through her. She thought she might throw up. Technically, this was her second battle, third if she counted New Mexico, but she had never fought before.

_Easy for you to say,_ she thought, taking a calming breath. _You always know someone's next move._

_ Or so you have always thought_, he said, humor in his voice. Good. She needed that.

_Your mind reading privileges end after this,_ she thought back to him.

_It is you who are communicating telepathically, darling. I am not reading your mind. _Another Asgardian perk, she guessed. How many of those would be popping up? She breathed in heavily again as the door fell before them. _Remember that though you are stronger and will be able to withstand more damage than a human, you are not invincible and do not yet know your limits. Please do not take any unnecessary risks._ _Remember, this was not Shaw's plan all along. He wanted the Tesseract. No matter how confident he seems, this is an act of desperation. _Darcy quietly nodded in response, looking down at her strange armor, hoping it would hold up against what she was going to face.

The sound of an alarm echoed through the corridor, getting louder as they ventured down the twisting path. She could tell they were approaching the main observatory. She supposed there was no sense in hiding. Shaw knew they were coming. And Mammoth was about as stealthy as a wrecking ball. She watched as Natasha and Clint both disappeared into the metallic scaffolding that rose up beside them as they entered the observatory. It somehow made her feel better, knowing that at least a few of them were working in the shadows, and she could only hope they were not spotted. The twenty something foot frost giant would hopefully draw the attention. Not to mention, Bruce looked like he was about to get a little angry. She suddenly grew uncomfortable knowing the rest of them were on a catwalk. They had to get on stable ground quick.

The first thing that caught her attention was the soft, bright, purple emanating from dozens of pillars that started at the ground below and extended up several stories. Each pillar looked like they had very large, opaque cells attached to them. She could see into them though, and horror flooded her as she realized there were people in each of them, some of them even children. All of them, like her, according to Mammoth. Kidnapped. Mutated. Torn into something else. There were hundreds of them, if not more, in the giant pillars. She gasped briefly until she felt Loki's hand on her shoulder.

_Silence_, he said harshly in their minds. _There will be nothing you can do for them if Shaw wins, or if he succeeds in waking them up to attack us. Do not lose sight of your target._

"Looks like this guy watched _The Matrix_ one too many times," Stark said. Darcy supposed she should have been offended, but she had learned long before that the suit was not the only armor Iron Man wore.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" a bone-chillingly familiar voice echoed through the massive room. She watched as Thor, Mammoth, and Steve immediately moved to the right as Bruce and Tony went to the left. She and Loki remained in the center, looking down as Victor made himself visible between the pillars below. "I have you to thank for it, sweetheart," Victor said as he approached, two mutants on either side of him. Darcy recognized the man made of rock that had been with them during her captivity. A woman she did not recognize was at his side. She was very pretty with honey blonde hair but with completely black eyes. Darcy did not want to guess what powers she had. She looked around as much as she could, waiting to see other mutants. "There were several elements of the neural reprogramming I hadn't quite mastered. My trip to Jotunheim wasn't a complete waste of my time. I got to solidify my technique on that ice cube." Darcy forced herself to smile sweetly.

"I aim to please," she said. She watched Victor's thin lips quirk into a serpentine smile.

"I see you have somehow gotten rid of my work. How sad. You were quite the masterpiece. It is a shame you have gone through the trouble only to come here to die with your friends." His eyes turned to Loki. "And this is the one who caused all of the trouble for you, I see? If I had been you, darling, I would have cried for someone a bit more imposing to come save me." Darcy said nothing, but could feel Loki's rage bubble in her mind; for a moment she thought it would give her a migraine. Looking over at him, he seemed the perfect picture of serenity, his face betraying none of the emotions she felt emanating from him. With everything she had, she tried to concentrate on slowing down time. It was not a smooth process, and she could feel it wearing on her mind immediately, but as she let her eyes glance around the room everything seemed to slip into slow motion. She moved only her eyes, so that he would see nothing amiss. She could see shadows behind the pillars. There were many of them lying in wait.

She tried thinking to everyone where they were. She knew Loki heard her, though he had probably already known, and only Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three seemed to indicate they heard as they glanced back at her. Maybe it was easier to talk telepathically to Asgardians. Darcy stared blankly at the woman standing next to Shaw, her mind dangerously tired, wondering for a moment what it was that had brought her to a place where she would follow someone like Victor. She had once been at the side of a villain, trapped somewhere between helplessness and sympathy.

"I'm not really the one with great one liners," Darcy replied softly, bracing herself. "Stark?"

"Leave it to me, kid," Stark said, lifting his hand. Darcy panicked for a moment as he fired a bolt right next to Shaw, blowing concrete up right next to him. Shaw had looked prepare to repel the blow, and glared up in consternation, knowing he was being taunted. It was a flurry of movement after that, and Darcy thought her breathing would stop as the scene rushed before her. As she covered her head and ran down a ramp on the side of the catwalk, she remembered Thor's boisterous voice in her mind, proclaiming great tales of brave battle. Thor never spoke of being nervous; he always sounded so brave. Loki knew she was scared, but he had told her to never show that to the enemy.

Loud explosions erupted behind her. She recognized the sound of the Hulk's roar, of Mjolnir being thrown into something, of Tony's suit charging and firing again. But she couldn't watch them: she knew what she had to do. As soon as she was on the ground, her eyes darted around, desperately looking for where the heart of Shaw's control would be. Mammoth had described it to her, in one of the more uncomfortable exchanges of conversation in her short life. Considering Loki had once tried seducing her moments after he had let his mind control of her wear off mere hours before he tried taking over her world, that was saying something. She could hear the sound of Victor's diamond form tearing through the air. She turned to see Loki teleport out of the cloud of diamond shards, only to appear in several spots as Victor came back together.

She forced herself to look away, ducking to the side as she headed for the back of the observatory. Being so close to the pods along the giant pillars in the room was making the bile rise to the top of her throat, especially knowing he had been working to power them up. They could be waking up at any moment. But they hadn't yet. She had to repeat what Loki had said. As powerful as Shaw was, they had caught him off guard. This was not his plan, she chanted to herself.

Darcy saw the room in the back, just as Mammoth had vaguely described it, as much as someone from Jotunheim could describe a room full of computers. Sprinting faster once she saw the target, she suddenly felt her feet being pulled out from under her. She rolled over quickly to see a man almost completely covered in fur with cat-like features holding her leg with his tail. She panicked as he came closer, deadly, painfully familiar looking claws coming closer to her. She clenched her jaw, trying desperately to concentrate on slowing time down again. She breathed heavily as the man-cat brought his claw up for the strike, but did so achingly slowly as she worked to unravel his unusually long and strangely boneless tail from around her leg. She gasped as she looked up, seeing an arrow slowly move above her head and into the heart of her attacker. The magic pulled at her mind as she felt herself losing control, and getting dizzy as everything sped up. The mutant feline's roar rang in her ears as she tried to shake the dizziness and made a dash for the control room, locking the door behind her.

The program was encrypted, but Tony had given her the same device he had used to plant JARVIS on the SHIELD helicarrier. Together, they had developed an even more sophisticated version. She placed the small drive in the port and looked out the single window in the room at the battle raging in the observatory.

"I don't think many saw you," said a voice behind her. She gasped quietly as she turned to see Loki's double. Breathing heavily in relief, she returned to the computer.

"Shouldn't you be focusing on wherever your body is?" she asked nervously, fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Can you get that infernal contraption to do what you want?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"There's some serious juice running through this place, based on the look of this," she said hurriedly, casting glances through the window. "He's already got the program running, and it's locked. He's trying to buy time. Where's Shaw?"

"I'm having a bit of difficulty at the moment, I'm afraid," he said. "I was hoping to get close enough to at least touch him with the scepter, but he is quite evasive." Darcy threw a worried glance to him and then quickly returned her eyes to the computers, her mind still reeling.

"You are trying to control-y stick him?"

"Why not," he questioned casually as he also cast his eyes outside. "It is my only solution so far. It is no energy he can cast back at me. If I can catch him before he transforms, I might be able to capture him." Darcy froze as a terrible groan of metal grinding sounded and she looked up to see one of the pillars opening up their bottom pods.

"Shit, shit shit!" Darcy whimpered, still typing furiously. "He is activating it now," she said. "He must have something on him. There's no way he would not have them under his control. A handheld device, or something. Can you see anything?"

"He keeps going for something in his pocket," Loki said, concentrating on his true body's line of sight."

"If you can keep him away from it, it may buy me some time to override it."

Loki shared one last look with her, unspoken words passing between them as he teleported back, all of his attention returning to Shaw, save for his double that watched the area and distracted a few mutants into accidentally killing each other as they tried to attack his illusion. He noticed Shaw was beginning to understand that engaging with him was fruitless. They were both evasive, merely dancing around each other while their battle raged on. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy, Rogers, struggling with a particularly rough mutant that seemed made of rock. He projected a double in front of the mutant quickly, distracting the creature long enough for Rogers to get the upper hand.

"Quite clever," Shaw said, finally returning to his human form, though Loki remained acutely alert, his full armor and helmet cutting a terrifying figure. "Saving the former allies I left to die to learn my little secrets. And here I thought killing your pesky Frost Giant of a brother would be the one thing you'd thank me for. You seem to have trouble with the fraternal bond, don't you? Either you are trying to kill one or the other is trying to kill you. It was his idea, after all, to go after the girl. Darcy, was it?"

"I'm not sure. I have trouble remembering it myself sometimes," Loki replied cooly, giving his scepter a slight twirl as he switched hands. Shaw smiled.

"If I did not know better, I would almost believe you. I will admit, your title of God of Lies was not poorly earned." Loki gave a slight bow. His eyes tossed to the left as several pods from one of the pillars began to open, new mutants, unstable though they were, joining the fight. The uneasiness did not show on his face.

"Ah, my children," Victor said. "Not that I am not enjoying this little exchange, but family first you see. I'm sure you understand." Victor once again separated into a cloud of diamond shards, zooming past Loki. The Asgardian growled as his body doubles watched Shaw head straight for the room Darcy was in. He was about to teleport away when a giant metal fist came ramming into his face. He blinked back the stars a bit to see a man composed of what looked to be entirely metal, a distraction he most certainly did not need.

Darcy's fingers flew over the keyboard, hoping the rest of her team could buy her just a few more minutes. She could hear the first phase of mutants being released. That was that many less people she wouldn't be able to save if she didn't stop Victor's program soon. She looked out to see the Hulk tearing the observatory apart, although he was able to avoid the pods of the army. It still didn't stop him from taking on the new mutants that had arisen from their stasis, smashing most of them into the ground. Thor, Tony, Mammoth, and the Asgardians were engaged with their own mutants, and Darcy couldn't even keep up with the strange assortment of powers she was seeing. She saw many of the new mutants crawling up the walls, moving very quickly, jumping incredibly high, and virtually flying. She became horrified when she thought she saw Thor fighting Loki, only to realize it was Thor fighting a shapeshifter, as the real Loki she could sense was fighting a giant man that looked like the T1000 Terminator. The familiar sound of JARVIS' voice when he was downloaded onto the system was like music to her ears.

"Madam, I'm afraid I do not recognize this device. What is it that you need?"

"Find out whatever program is opening these pods for me, JARVIS," she said. "It's hidden somewhere."

"Right away madam," he said as Darcy felt two rough hands violently grab her hair.

"JARVIS, lock it down!" she shouted as she felt her body being thrown into a set of monitors across the room. She landed with a painful crash to the floor and looked up to see Shaw glaring down at her, leaning over the computer, trying to stop JARVIS from running. At her command, JARVIS had gone into safe mode where nothing could stop his running program, only to be disabled by her, Stark, or Banner. After a few moments of frustration he turned his eyes back to her.

"You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" he said, stalking towards her as she tried to raise herself up, surprisingly unhurt. She did not miss the surprise that appeared in his eyes when he realized she was not incapacitated. "I guess you didn't completely get rid of what I gave you after all," he snarled, picking her back up. She had not realized how strong he was as he seized her, tossing her up into the ceiling before slamming her back down onto the ground. That hurt a little more, she conceded, as she still refused to hit him, knowing it would only come back to her. "They know they shouldn't hit me, but your friends aren't known for their mild temperaments. How long do you think they will last when they see me break you? Wouldn't want the big green monster to see me, now would we?" he said, picking her up and throwing her into the closest wall. She breathed heavily as she hit the ground, trying to still the pain in her body and ignore blood dripping from her mouth.

"He's not a monster," she said lowly, rising to her feet and tilting her head. "And I could do this all day." He was avoiding damage to the master computer, she realized as he came over to grab her by the back of her hair and armor again. He didn't want it destroyed. He smirked at her and she braced herself as she soon found herself flying through the plate glass back into the observatory. Her body crumpled over the opening of the window, and she was grateful for her armor, otherwise her stomach would have been cut on the shards still left in place by the window. Once again he grabbed her, standing her upright.

"After everything that's been done to you, you still can't fight back. Haven't you had enough of playing heroes?"

"If I wanted a kiss, I would have called your mother," she said weakly, struggling to stand on her own. Victor growled again, throwing her this time into the wall clear across the room. After her body landed on the ground with a disconcerting crack, Darcy rolled over onto her back, her entire body screaming in pain, knowing she had broken bones in more than a few places despite her stronger form. She could feel her entire body fading away as she heard the second phase of new mutants being released from their pods. They were getting overwhelmed out there. She looked up to see Shaw pull out a handkerchief, wiping off his hands before tossing it to the ground. Asshole.

"Your lover wanted to rule you humans, you see," he said, returning to the computer to stop JARVIS now that she was incapacitated. "What was it he called humans? Ants? I believe that was what Fury told the Council in his briefing. A fitting analogy, I will give him that. But ants are a nuisance. And in great colonies can be a plague. You should have been eradicated long ago. You are the last remnants of a species too outdated to continue to be allowed to live. Even _you _could not settle for being one. I gave you the chance of a lifetime to become more than you are, to break free from your species. Why do you continue to fight your own extinction, Ms. Lewis? It is inevitable." In the back of her mind, as she slowly began to slip away, she noted the tailor cut of the back of Victor's suit as he calmly began typing away at the computer, trying to undo what she had done. Even though JARVIS was running and possibly finding the program, it wouldn't stop automatically and she needed to be there. Everything in her body seemed to be shutting down, and she could feel herself losing consciousness fast.

It was a familiar voice calling to her that kept her from slipping away.

_The mind is where your strength lies, Darcy. He can't sense me, because you have him distracted. Draw his attention away from me, and I will kill him._ Darcy's eyes slowly opened again, her torn ligaments and broken bones screaming in protest as she struggled to stand up again. Victor turned to her once again, rolling his eyes.

"You know, I was maybe wrong in trying to have you killed," he said, slowly approaching her. "Back when you were just a useless little nuisance possibly interfering with my plans. Here you are, still a useless little nuisance, but you have some staying power. I like that about you. Beating you to death has been so much more satisfying."

"Glad I could help," she said weakly. He bent over to pick her, fire like she had never seen in his eyes. She suddenly saw Loki appear behind him, and used what small strength she had left to give one last effort to slow time down around her. Her eyes connected with Loki's, and she knew what he needed, feeling his thoughts entering her mind. She watched as Victor slowly descended upon her and Loki bent low, sliding the scepter over to her, everything happening in slow motion for her. She grabbed it, holding the tip of the scepter to Victor's chest as he, still trapped in slow motion, came to a halt, but not fast enough to avoid Loki's mind control spell that channeled through her. Her body went cold as she watched Victor's eyes glaze over black, and then shift to an ethereal blue. Darcy gasped as she finally lost control of time, feeling as if her body was being ripped apart while she heard the third phase of mutants opened outside in the observatory. She slumped over from her half crouched position as Victor absently stood.

"Darcy!" Loki called, coming to her side. He sounded far away to her. Loki plucked the scepter from her hand, coming to stand in front of Victor. The Asgardian's face went cold, the concern for Darcy fading momentarily as he faced the mutant.

"I am going to run this scepter through your heart," he said after several moments of silence, his voice even. Victor stared blankly. "You will not shift into diamond form, you will not heal your wound. You will allow yourself to bleed until your heart stops, and you die. Do you understand?"

"I believe we have an understanding," Shaw said, his typically calm voice sounding like static noise to Darcy. She drew in a deep breath as Loki raised his scepter and made good on his word, plunging the terrifying, glowing spear into Victor's chest. Darcy began trembling as she watched blood oozed into his white shirt before Loki withdrew the spear, and Shaw lifelessly fell to the ground. She gasping, suddenly realizing she had not been breathing.

"We do not have time to bask in triumph," Loki said firmly, bending to lift her up. "Rogers is down. You have work to do." Darcy grunted in pain as Loki lifted her back to the computer where JARVIS had finished running, sitting her down on the stool. She had to grip the desk to keep from falling.

"JARVIS, bring up the program," she bit out as Loki stood at the doorway, shooting beams of energy from his scepter into the fight.

"At once, madam. Do you require medical attention? You do not seem yourself."

"Soon," she whispered, her bleeding fingers staining the keyboard. She saw the program come up. It was terrifying. There were forty phases of mutants to be released, two thousand mutants in all. The pillars in the observatory were just the beginning. She saw the program he had designed with all of their chips integrated. He had trained networks of spies, soldiers, assassins, and all sorts of mutants to obey him without question. It was quite easy to find the phases of mutants that had been awakened, already with orders to kill. In the strangest computer game she had ever imagined, she pressed the command for armistice, and watched the mutants in the observatory come to a halt. Over and over she repeated the process, shutting down all three group that had been released, as well as the group called "Alpha," which she assumed was the first group that had been there, from whom Victor had gotten his original genes.

She saw why Victor hadn't been willing to destroy the computer. The system he had designed was the only thing keeping them in control. Without it, they would all be like she had been: uncontrolled agents of destruction, all with supernatural power. She looked up as Iron Man and Thor looked around confused, unsure what to do with the enemies no longer attacking them. As soon as the activation program was stopped, Darcy buckled and collapsed to the ground, only barely missing the floor as Loki grabbed her lifeless form.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N:**

So guys. This is the final full chapter. After this, only an epilogue will follow! My official farewell speech will have to wait until then, lol. I should have that out within the week.

Please forgive any typos. I didn't want to nag my beta during the Thanksgiving weekend, but I didn't want to leave you hanging to long after that last chapter. Will post the corrected chapter when my beta gets back.

* * *

It was a fuzzy sort of awareness that struck Darcy as her eyes opened reluctantly in the bright light of an early morning sun, her body feeling approximately fifty times better, give or take, than what she had remembered before she had faceplanted into Victor's computer. She could somehow feel the drugs in her system, but they weren't making her loopy as she would have imagined. The hospital gown she saw as she raised up and looked down wasn't exactly as fashionable as the armor she had been sporting, but it gave her an idea that it had been more than a couple of hours since she had been out.

"It's 9 AM, November 14th," she hear Natasha say from the corner. She turned her head, easily making the assassin's form out in the shadowy corner. "We fought Shaw just yesterday." Darcy inhaled deeply, feeling her legs and ribs where she had been sure something had broken with her fingers. Her skin was tender in some areas, but otherwise perfectly fine. "Stark Tower is powered back up, so that is where we are now," Natasha continued, raising up and coming to sit on her bed. "We've been alternating between watching over you and Rogers. Loki was just here. I told him I would come to get you when you were awake so he could rest." Darcy looked into Natasha eyes, so many emotions running through her, she felt like she'd blow away with all of them. Romanov smiled her typical, crooked smile, reaching up to pull a bandage off of her head. Darcy reached up, feeling the smooth skin of her forehead restored to the gash that had been there before. "Quite the healing system you've got there," Romanov commented.

Darcy could take it no longer, throwing her arms around Natasha, with little care for how the assassin would react. She felt Natasha slowly wrap her arms around her waist, a bit more awkwardly, but not exactly hesitant. Warm tears formed in Darcy's eyes as she squeezed slightly harder, but she remained careful to not put her full strength into it.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Don't," Natasha said, pulling her back, lightly gripping her upper arms. "Don't do that to yourself. It wasn't you Darcy. We all know it wasn't you." The young girl's face contorted, fresh tears falling as she took a deep breath.

"I feel like it had to be a little me," she said quietly, staring at her bedsheets. They were nice. Nothing but the best from Stark Tower. "The things I said to Steve. The way I said I felt I- I do feel that way sometimes."

"That doesn't mean you would have used it to manipulate him," Natasha replied evenly, letting her hand drop into her own lap and finding her own preoccupation with the floor pattern. "We've already forgiven you, Darcy. The only thing you are doing is hurting yourself by holding onto it. You're throwing away everything we did to try to protect you. Just let it go." Darcy's reddening eyes met hers as she nodded, sniffling.

"What about the others?" she asked suddenly. "The mutants? All those people? What's happening to them?" Natasha crossed her arms, taking a deep breath.

"Fury and the Avengers decided it would be best if the Council and SHIELD kept a distance from the super soldiers. We have no way of gauging their mental state, and its too much of a risk that someone like Shaw could be lurking. While we were in DC, Jane was doing some research. She managed to track down a professor who heads a school for mutants. He knew of Shaw, and had been able to locate him for a while. He has a team of others people like that with special powers that try to train people who find out they have them. Fury met with him, and we've decided he's trustworthy to try and rehabilitate all Shaw's army. He's promised to keep us updated on their progress."

"Wow," Darcy said. "A whole school for them."

"They had an impressive facility. The professor said we might even call on them the next time we need help.

"And Steve, is he okay?" Darcy asked suddenly. "I think I remember Loki saying that he went down, now. Is he all right?"

"He might not be healing up as fast as you, but he is fine," she said with a smile. "One of the mutants had some kind of... stingray tail. He got stabbed in the stomach." Darcy gasped quietly. "It missed the important stuff, though. He's toughing the rest out. You were in a lot worse shape than he was. It looked like Shaw enjoyed beating the hell out of you before Loki got back to you." Darcy let her eyebrows raise slightly in agreement, nodding slightly as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, sitting side by side with Natasha.

"It's easy to be tough when no one can hit you back," she said dryly, as Natasha threw a friendly arm over her shoulders. Darcy smiled. "Not that I would know how to fight anyway." Romanov nodded.

"I suppose that will be changing soon," the spy chanced saying, "if you depart us lowly mortals." Darcy grinned. "I don't know why, but it makes me sad," she continued, letting her arm drop to her side. "I kind of liked that you were the one of us that didn't fight." Darcy shrugged.

"Not fighting didn't keep me from being a target," she said. "From Loki. From Shaw. There's a movie quote about it I'm sure, but I can't think of one right now."

"I thought we'd be able to keep you safe from it," Natasha said. "That there would be at least one of us that wouldn't have to fight. I also thought dating a bad guy granted you some kind of immunity. Guess not."

"So _that's_ why you encouraging me to go out with him?"

"No, _that_ was because you both needed to get laid. Him especially."

"That was all he needed?"

"I don't see him trying to take over Earth anymore, do you?"

"That's fair. Still doesn't explain why I was the top candidate."

"I haven't seen any complaining on your part." Darcy smiled.

"I should go see Steve," she said, raising up from the bed. "Do I have any clothes that won't bare my ass to the rest of the world?" Natasha smirked.

"Tony brought you some of your clothes you had in your room here," she said. Darcy spotted the pile on the table as she walked over, quickly slipping into a pair of familiar jeans and a long sleeved tee. "Clint and I are reporting back to Fury today. I'll see you later."

* * *

She found Steve in the next room over, silently staring out the window, his chest bare and a bandage wrapped around his middle. She was in love with Loki, there was no question, but damn if she didn't still admire the sheer muscle mass of the guy. She knocked politely to get his attention. He turned to her, surprise clear on his features and then a warm smile.

"They said you were hurt pretty bad," he said. "Looks like you proved them wrong." Darcy smirked bashfully, shrugging a little.

"Would feel kind of weird taking credit. It's an Asgardian thing, I guess," she replied, stepping carefully into the room, pausing awkwardly before continuing. "I'm under strict orders from Natasha to not going around apologizing for everything that happened before."

"But you are going to try anyway?" he questioned, a sad sort of humor setting in him. She took a stool next to his bed.

"Never was very good at the following orders thing."

"You didn't do too bad for a new soldier," he said with a comical amount of encouragement. An awkward amount of silence fell between them, and Darcy began to regret all of the times she had ignored and distanced herself from him. Maybe it would have been easier if they had been friends like with Natasha. She had been afraid of leading him on, even when her relationship with Loki had been less than solid, after he had expressed feelings for her before she had left for California. But when she had told him she had not felt the same way, he had responded like the gentleman he was, and said he would not bring up the topic again, and that he hoped that they could still be friends. Unlike most men, he actually had probably meant it, and she suddenly felt horrible for the purposeful distance she had put between them.

"I'm not just sorry for the things I said to you though," she continued. "But for the things I haven't said. Even before the whole... Frost Giant thing." He continued to stare at her quite intently, curiosity and surprise sparkling in his blue eyes. "I was afraid of trying to be friends with you," she replied with as much honestly as she could muster, which was a lot. He listened intently, not interrupting her, and she found it disconcerting to have an open floor. "This whole _life_ was still weird to me. You, Loki, Thor, the _Avengers_, and being involved was just... surreal, you know. Almost getting killed wasn't something I was used to. But, you reached out to me during all of that, and I didn't know how to handle being friends, let alone being asked out, by someone I'd looked at as a hero as a kid. I know that-" she finally managed to look him in the eyes, a little heartbroken at the sympathy she found there. "I know now that I wasn't the only one out of my element, and you could have probably used a friend, too. I was lucky enough to find one. I'm just sorry that I let you down -especially since you never let any of us down." Steve clenched his jaw, his brows coming together as he took her hand carefully.

"It's not too late," he said. "I can still use a friend." She struggled to smile widely, trying to keep any tears from falling as she covered her his large hand with her own. "Especially one that can take the hit that you can." An strangled giggle escaped her as she looked away.

"I can now, anyway," she said. "Taking hits hasn't always been my specialty."

"Nah," he said. "You've been taking them for longer than you think." Darcy pursed her lips together firmly as she looked back at him, pulling her hands away. "Someone once told me that," he paused, as if trying to remember, "A strong man, or in your case, a strong lady, who has known power her whole life may lose respect for it. You know what it's like to be weak. You know the value of power. And you have compassion." This time, Darcy couldn't help the tear falling as she stared at Rogers, feeling both incredibly alone and yet connected to the man in front of her in a way she had never felt before. She saw the way he stared out the window, instead of looking at her this time. Steve Rogers wasn't always Captain America. Once, he was just a ninety pound asthmatic, and someone had said those words to him.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly, unsure of what else she could ever say. She thought about Coulson, and how much he would have loved hearing that from his hero. The same sting that always accompanied the thought of Coulson came over her, knowing who was the one to kill him. Loki had shown regret for killing Coulson, but he hadn't shown remorse. She wondered if he ever would.

"You always get that same look when you think about him," Steve said sadly, breaking into her thoughts. "Like you are worried and happy at the same time." Darcy couldn't deny the truth of those words, no matter how weird it was coming from Rogers. "I didn't think it was fair," he continued, "that everyone expected you to make him a good guy." A humorless, short chuckle escaped her.

"No one can make Loki anything than what he is," she said.

"But you love him anyway," he replied. Darcy stared at him, uncertain of the question, but nodded.

"No one is perfect, and Loki even less than that, but," she paused, not sure if Steve wanted to hear this. He seemed intent on listening. "I love who he wants to be. He thought he wanted to be a king. But I think, really, he just wants greatness, and I think he is learning that those two don't always go hand in hand. I am not sure if he will ever be who he wants... but I think I am willing to put up with him, in the meantime, until he does."

"Not exactly what I imagined romance would be like," he commented. She laughed.

"We all can't be knights in shining armor," she said. He smiled half-heartedly, shrugging.

"That night you showed me how to dance was the best night of my life," he said. She froze, not having expected that right after she was talking about how much she was in love with guy who tried taking over their world. "I felt for the first time in... a long time... like I might fit somewhere. Just being out with you and Romanov and Barton like a normal person was... it felt like a home. I'm not saying you belong with me because of it, but I felt like you deserved someone you didn't feel like you had to save from himself."

Darcy stared a good long while at the carpeting, waiting for the heaviness of his words to move off of her, but it didn't. "On the other hand," he said. "You found courage and and he found compassion. It might not be perfect, but no team is. Maybe that's the point of a team. To not be perfect."

"If the army doesn't work out for you, there's always counselling," she said.

"So Stark has told me a few times," he said with a sudden, easy humor. "I think it's how he avoids me giving advice." Darcy smiled.

"I like your advice," she said, reaching out to hug him with no reservations, though she remained careful of his stomach bandages. He returned it easily. "I should go see the others. They probably think I am still unconscious." He nodded, a strange peace on his features. "Don't worry, Cap. We'll have you dancing again in no time."

* * *

She found him on the roof of Stark, and a strange sort of deja vu set in. The last time she had been there with Loki, he had accidentally run her through while trying to kill Erik Selvig during his plan to take over the world, and now here she was trying to find him like it was second nature to her. Though, she did not plan on that particular event repeating itself. He didn't have full armor and golden horns this time, his attire much more casual, for an Asgardian outfit, and he had cut his hair again. Or magicked it shorter, whatever it was he did to maintain his style. Darcy had never once seen him shave. He never even had stubble. Darcy decided to save that random line of questioning she had never even contemplated as she walked closer, He stared quietly over the city, his hands clasped behind his back when she approached.

_Hey there,_ she thought to him. He turned, a smile drawing across his face so warm and genuine her heart fluttered a bit. "So it does still work," she said, walking towards him. "Not pacing by my bedside? How unchivalrous."

"You are awfully saucy for one who helped save your world last night," he said as she reached him, bending down to kiss her forehead. "Again."

"Yeah. I better chill out on the 'almost dying' thing before it becomes a habit," she replied. Loki looked uncomfortable briefly before smiling again gently.

"Your new form will make healing for you much easier. You can charge recklessly into danger much better now. Forgive my absence, but we had our time to make peace in Asgard, so to speak. Agent Romanov, I knew, wanted to see you when you awoke.." Darcy smiled gently.

"Thank you," she said quietly, tentatively leaning in to embrace him. He returned it tightly, relishing the feel of her in his arms once again, as she was once again whole and intact.. "I assume you met with the boy? He was gravely injured, but he has survived." Darcy smirked.

"He has a name, you know."

"How lovely for him."

"Please, Loki?" The Asgardian rolled his eyes indulgently.

"How is Rogers faring?"

"He is very well," Darcy said, beaming at him for his effort. "He is going to be fine. I've only seen him and Natasha. I thought everyone would be up here."

"Banner and Stark will be up soon. Stark was driving Thor quite mad while you were unconscious. Thor tried assuring him that your new powers would take care of your healing. Banner took him to their research facility to keep him from having every Midgardian doctor here within a ten mile radius."

"And Thor and Jane? The rest of the ol' gang?"

"I suppose Thor and Jane are... celebrating our victory." Darcy smirked.

"We will have to add that to our list of tasteful phrases." Loki returned her grin.

"Sif and the Warriors Three returned home. They have," he paused, "guessed our relationship, so that you are aware." Darcy nodded. "I am not accustomed to carrying around the unconscious bodies of fallen comrades off of the battlefield, so I suppose it was easy to deduce. Thankfully they did not jump to a similar conclusion when Banner carried Rogers from the lab. But the four of them await our return in Asgard. Fandral even said it would be good to see me home, so I suppose I can forgive him ogling you this time." Darcy tried to smirk at his easy humor and was happy to hear of the possibility of reconciliation with his old friends, but remained uneasy.

"So, you are going back to Asgard, then?" she questioned. Loki froze suddenly, his eyes boring into her hers in that really intense way that made her want to shrivel up and hide.

"Are you... not?" he asked. "I thought you would like to," he paused, taking a suspiciously deep breath, "see the rest of it. I understand if it is too soon..."

"No, no, nothing like that," she corrected quickly, taking his hands in hers. "Of course I want to see. I'm just... getting the feeling I'm talking about a visit, and you are talking about something... longer." She paused. "I'm sorry, I guess we can't put this conversation off much longer."

"I'm not asking for your final decision now. But... it was my intention to return home permanantly, when Shaw was dealt with. I would like to try to repair my relationship with my family. That is something I must do. I thought you would like to try Asgard, for a time, of course, but I understand you might have things you must do on your own." Darcy looked out over the city.

"I," she paused, thinking over her words carefully. "I love working with Tony," she admitted. "He means a lot to me, too. I," she paused again, taking a deep breath. "I feel like I'm doing amazing things working for him, and I'm learning so much in the things that I love. I don't think I'm ready to let that go, even if I do decide to stay in Asgard. This part of my life only just started." She paused. "I want to be with you, Loki. I love you so much. I just don't know how this will work with us in two different worlds."

"It's called teleportation, the last time I checked," he said. Darcy was relieved to be able to chuckle.

"You are going to teleport me every day? Am I going to be worth that trouble for you after a while." Loki frowned.

"It has never been very difficult, and the scepter makes it even less so. Access to the power of the Tesseract as made magic even less draining. I see no reason not to extend that courtesy as long as you make it worth my while," he said impishly, leaning down to capture her lips with his. She rolled her eyes before letting herself enjoy the comforting familiarity of his kiss.

"And if I do not?" she asked, kissing him again.

"Then it is the bi-frost for you," he said cheekily as she broke into a wide smile. She looked up at him, trying to gauge his sincerity.

"You are serious?" she asked sincerely. "You want to try this?" His hand came up to the side of her face and she let her eyes drift shut before opening them again, trying to read the intense stare coming from him.

"In all my years, I have rarely regretted who I was twice," he said. "Once when I found out I was a Frost Giant. Once when I almost killed you. And now, with you again, my talent as a liar has me hating myself once more. Darcy, what must I do?" he asked. "What can I do to make you believe me? That there is nothing that I would not do for you?" Tears welled in Darcy's eyes as she tried to look away, but he would not allow it as he gently but firmly held her head to look at him.

"I want to believe you," she said quietly, closing her eyes to shed two tears before opening again. "There is still so much we don't know about each other. You've lived for hundreds of years, and never found what you wanted. I don't understand what makes you think you will find it with me." She paused, breathing heavily. "It was painfully easy for me to fall in love with you. I was just this stupid girl with a crush on a supervillain. And maybe, for a while, I was someone who could bring you some comfort in this place that you hated, and I was happy to do so. But, when you are home, and back to being free to do whatever you want, I'm just afraid to expect you to choose me." She swallowed the uncomfortably large lump in her throat, wiping her eyes embarrassed. "Because if you don't, I'll be heartbroken; but it will hurt a lot less if I see it coming, at least." She hated the genuinely hurt look in his eyes.

"Have you so little faith in me, even now?" he asked, dropping his hand from her face. Darcy choked back a strangled sob as she bowed her head, feeling him leaving her in more ways than one.

"Loki, please don't," she pleaded.

"What?" he asked. "Do I not deserve an answer?"

"I am trying to be fair to you," she said.

"By assuming I am incapable of loyalty?"

"You loved Thor for centuries and you spent the last two years trying to kill him!" she spat, turning away from him, crossing her arms protectively in front of her. She took several calming breath, clenching her teeth in what felt like almost physical pain. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, both wishing she could see his face and dreading it. "But I have no reason to assume you hold me in some sort of better standing. I am trying to be honest with myself if I am preparing myself to be with you... forever."

"I now know why I prefer lies. Honesty is usually more painful," she heard him say casually. She rolled her eyes. Only _he_ would say such a thing at such a moment. "Does it not occur to you, darling, that I was willing to take such a risk for you?" Her eyebrows came together as she whipped around to see his annoyingly nonchalant demeanor.

"What risk am I to you?" she almost demanded.

"You were a mortal," he said, though not unkindly. Darcy was a bit thrown off. In spite of his obvious anger she could tell he was masking with cool indifference, he was surprisingly gentle in tone. "The last shred of dignity to which I clung after my fall from Asgard was that I might rule your people, only to find myself under your influence, somehow. You: one of my intended subjects, barely older than a child, even compare to your own people, let alone to me." Darcy felt like the air was rushing out of her lungs. He had never said such a thing before. "You, an anomaly among the liars and killers you served, including myself. With your stupid iPod and your ridiculous taser and complete disregard for danger around you, and I," he placed and elegant hand on his chest, his cool indifference slipping, "your would-be king, _longed_ for you. And, oh, did your superiors play their cards well," he said, pacing, as she grew more uncomfortable at his words. "We both knew it from the beginning, from the moment I gave up the Chitauri to save you. Fury dangled you in front of me like a mouse in front of the snake: a satisfying meal that might subdue me, and I allowed it, so that I might have you. I was even happy to have your _friendship_ without your body, my original intent, when you denied me. All of this knowing that you would die within the blink of an eye to me. Do not speak to me of sacrifice as if you are the only one who has felt its sting. You may be giving up your precious self-preservation in loving me, but I have been sacrificing my pride, the one savior of my soul during my fall through the abyss, since the day I first admitted I wanted you, and that was _without_ the promise of a forever."

Darcy bottom lip quivered, her eyes fixed on his as she watched the anger in them deflate at the sight of her tears. She squeezed her eyes shut once again, willing the situation to just fix itself when she felt his arms come around her. Like a second nature, she tried with all her might to bury her face in his neck and just hide. He was right. Honestly was painful. As she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, ashamed of how unfair she had truly had been to him, she couldn't help but wonder if that really was why he preferred lies. With Loki, every emotion ran so deep. Was it just easier to keep the well covered, lest he drown in what he would find? She squeezed tightly, elation filling her when she felt him returned the embrace.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Let us have no more apologies," he said. "I love you, Darcy Lewis. Say you believe me."

"I believe you," she whispered, her lips almost touching his neck as she spoke. "I love you, too." She found herself pulled away from the crook of his shoulder, and her mouth quickly pressed against his, his arms fully enveloping as she struggled to grip the firm material of his clothes. For some reason, she thought of their first kiss in the SHIELD locker room. Back when their relationship had been teetering somewhere between excitement, danger, and comfort, burning her from the inside out with both passion and uncertainty. It was so very different just then, as his lips firmly moved against hers, his long fingers moving to thread through her hair. She was no longer chasing a desperate emotion for fear of it disappearing. For all of the mystery that intrigued her about Loki, he was promising that he would stay with her, the thoughts of forever off in the distance.

"Guys, we have plenty of _rooms_!" Darcy heard being shouted from inside the penthouse. Darcy gasped against Loki's mouth as jerker her head around to see Tony with his feet planted in a power stance and arms crossed from inside as Pepper and Banner stood averting their eyes, much more embarrassed than Tony. Darcy was relieve to let out a nervous giggle as she looked back at Loki, who seemed his own strange combination of amused and annoyed.

"To be continued," she said, glancing over at the three who seemed to be waiting for them.

"To answer your previous question, by the way," he said, offering his arm politely to her as they slowly made their way back inside. "I see no reason why we both cannot have what we want together. You can still work with Stark, I can still be with my family, whether we lay our heads in Midgard or Asgard at night is of little consequence; though, don't be fooled, you will prefer Asgard after a while." The tension from the past few minutes began to uncoil and excitement replaced it, for once realizing that he meant what he was saying. "I have been walking worlds for centuries, my little minion, though I never imagined I would have someone with whom I could walk them one day. I would like to remain discreet until I have dealt with the leader of the Chitauri, but I imagine I will be able allowed my former freedom soon. There are far more worlds than these two to see."

"We won't be on a flying carpet with funny shoes and a magic lamp with you singing, will we?" she asked, her voice light, but worn from their past few minutes of conversation.

"What _are_ you talking about?" Loki questioned. Darcy shrugged, thoroughly amused with her own mental image. As they made their way inside, a wide smile broke on her face as she ran, jumping into the Iron Man's arms who caught her in a tight hug. Darcy steeled the well of emotion burning behind her eyes, fearing she would dissolve into a puddle of nerves, refusing to give him the ammo he needed to tease her about how scared she was for them. Just before their hug bordered on awkwardly long, Darcy opened her eyes, though not pulling away.

"Boss?"

"Don't ruin this, Darcy. I'm already trying to forgive you for the emotional scarring I have just endured. Here I was hoping you were making the whole thing up about dating a supervillain."

"How much sick time do I have?"

"Ah!" He pulled back suddenly, his eyebrow raise, a finger raise and almost pointing at her. "Clause in your contract. Godhood immediately dispels all sick days. It's in the fine print."

"I read no such thing," Darcy replied candidly.

"The very fine print."

"What's your policies on big green rage monsters?" Bruce questioned.

"They get whatever they want. They're big green rage monsters."

"Pepper," Darcy almost whined.

"Ten days plus personal time, on top of vacation." Pepper replied evenly, widening her eyes purposely as Tony looked back at her, betrayed.

"I have to approve it, though," he said, turning back with a smug smirk.

"_I_ have to approve it," Pepper replied lowly and quickly, smiling.

"And you do _not-"_

"I _do_ approve any and all time off requests," Pepper interrupted, a sickeningly sweet smile in Tony's direction as he put an arm around her. Stark practically pouted. Darcy couldn't contain the smile breaking through, seeing the two of them making her feel like for the first time in a long while that things were going to turn out okay. She looked up at Bruce, who stood quietly behind Tony and Pepper. He had made it through the whole thing with she without hurting any of them. He had even avoided the pods for the mutants, she had seen in the chaos. She walked over to him, giving him a warm hug that had him hesitant at first, but he returned quickly. She turned around to face them all, including Loki, who seemed quietly content at her reunion.

"If it is all right with _you_," she said diplomatically to Tony and Bruce, "I think I am going to take a few weeks." She smiled. "But, I think I will be ready to go back to work then, if I'm not fired for trying to kill you." She gave her best puppy eyes while looking uncomfortably at the scratch marks still healing on his face. Tony squinted, looking out the window, as if thinking.

"It _might_ have to come off as a percentage of your salary..."

"No it won't," Pepper calmly added.

"Darcy!" the girl heard in a familiar, booming voice from behind her as the elevator dinged behind them all.

"Jane! Thor!" she _almost_ squealed, running to hug Jane first and foremost, one more ache coming undone somewhere in her chest as her friend's arms came around her. She pulled away just in time to be embraced warmly by Thor, the giant man picking her up off of her feet easily in a one of his typical giant hugs.

"You see Jane?" he said, setting her down, keeping a giant arm over her shoulders. Jane remained quiet, the relieved smile on her face not leaving her as she stared at Darcy. "I told you she would be perfectly fine. Darcy is a warrioress of Asgard now. Legends will be told of her courage has she face Victor Shaw, the Midgardian that could not struck. It will forever be remember how she faced him bravely, drawing his attention away from Loki," he said extending his hand grandly toward his brother, who forced himself to look bored, "who was clever enough to trick him into becoming controlled by his Scepter, and allowed himself to be killed. Of course, it is all rather unpolished, but that's what bards are for." Darcy smirked up at the overzealous God of Thunder before looking over at Jane, who was tucked under Thor's other arm.

"Well, aren't we just the happy family?" Loki said unenthusiastically, though Darcy smiled softly at him, seeing the sparkle of humor in his eyes.

"You don't have to condescend _everything_ Loki," Darcy said, amused. "You can enjoy the moment once in a while. Not all of us go to grow up winning epic battles on a daily basis."

"Unfortunately, we will not be able to linger for much longer," Thor said, giving Darcy a final squeeze before walking forward to Stark and Banner. "Mammoth awaits us in Asgard. We made a bargain with him. Loki and I were the ones to make it, and so we must be there to see it honored. If he is to be the new king Jotunheim, it will be wise to make sure his rule begins with honor and respect from Asgard, if we want to build peace with the Frost Giants."

Darcy's eyes fell to Loki while Thor continued talking with Stark and Banner as it suddenly dawned on her that Mammoth, though she doubted Loki felt any familial bond with him, would be the second brother to claim a throne while he did not. She watched him carefully, waiting to see that look of disappointment on his face she always saw when being compared to Thor. Surprisingly, she saw no trace of it. He seemed to feel her staring and turned to her, his sharp green eyes trying to discern her thoughts. She realized he really couldn't read her mind. for which she was grateful. Though, while not a mind reader, he was incredibly perceptive, and she could tell he had deduced her concern. A quiet smirk comforted her as he joined her at her side. Unlike Thor's massive arm swung over her shoulders in brotherly affection, he wrapped a gentle arm around her waist, pressing a discreet kiss to her temple as they both turned, pretending to listen to Thor and Stark.

_Worry not, my love_, he said in their minds. Her relieved smile came immediately. _I may never have a crown upon my head, but I know now it does not a great man make. I had your entire world in my grasp, and I had have never been lower than that moment; and yet Thor was at his mightiest, according to Odin, as a nigh powerless mortal escorting your people to safety, choosing death at my hand rather than you coming to harm. I may never know what it is to be a great man; but I believe it starts by trying to be good. I may never know what that means either, but for my father, for my mother, for my brother, for you, I will try. That will have to be enough, for it is all I can give. _Darcy squeezed her eyes shut, her head leaning against his shoulder as she took in a sharp breath, trying to suppress the tears. Good grief, almost dying made her emotional.

"Jane, Darcy," Thor said, getting both of their attention. "There is not a moment to lose Loki and I must return to Asgard. Will you join us?" Darcy caught Jane's eyes as a playful looked passed between the two women. Jane shrugged noncommittally.

"Why not," the physicist said, smiling at Thor, taking his hand. He beamed at her before everyone turned their attention to Darcy, who looked at Tony.

"I have to clear it with my boss," she said. "But I'm game." Stark opened his mouth but wasn't able to get anything words out before Pepper interjected.

"I hear he's fine with it," Pepper said. Tony look at Pepper, who looked at him only long enough to widen her eyes at him purposefully. Darcy came to stand in front of them, her arms crossed over her chest, amused watching them.

"I'm fine with it," Tony confirmed grudgingly. "I expect you back in, oh let's say..."

"Four weeks?" she began hopefully

"You're trying to rob me here. One."

"I helped save the _world_, Tony."

"Welcome to the club, kid. Get used to it. Why don't you magic yourself some more time, O Goddess of Patience."

"That's not fair, I'd just be all by myself. Plus I don't even know how to do it that well. Three?"

"Two."

"Deal," she beamed, hugging him tightly, which he returned even tighter. as the group began moving back outside on the roof, Stark and Darcy following.

"Can you two manage to keep it G-rated until you get to the other side?" Jane looked at Darcy, a dark brow arched Darcy shook her head dissmissively.

"Heimdall!" Thor called to the skies once outside. "Open the bi-frost!" The seven of them stood fast when familiar golden glow of the gatekeeper slowly formed in the air in a brilliant oval, beckoning the four of them to the realm of the men they loved, this time, with no immediate threat upon their lives. Thor and Jane took turns saying their goodbyes and exchanging handshakes and hugs, and Darcy hugged Banner and Pepper tightly, promising she would see them soon. Loki kissed Pepper's hand politely, and nodded respectfully to Banner and Stark before taking his place next to the portal, extending his hand toward Darcy as Thor and Jane stepped through it. She took a deep breath, stepping forward and taking Loki's hand, looking back at their three observers.

"See you later," she said casually, trying her best to remind herself that it was just goodbye for a few weeks. Life with Loki had already been strange. Adding world-traveling to it was sure to be only a beginning. She caught his eyes as they turned to the portal. He smirked at her. He looked young. And... happy. Loki was a being of many faces, whether it was a terrifying villain or a heartbroken man. Of all of his faces, though, this was the one he wore most naturally. It was an impish sort of look, like a boy about to be doing something he knew he shouldn't, but was going to anyway. If she was going to spend an eternity with him, she knew then that it was the one look she would have be able to handle, as it was the one that was least likely to leave. _This_ was Loki, at his core, when the damage was stripped away: a boy about to get into trouble.

She returned his grin, taking one final breath as she stepped through the portal.


	40. Epilogue

"Nervous, Thor?" Loki questioned as he did his best to help the God of Thunder's cape lay smoothly. Thor gripped the feathered helmet in his hands so tightly, the God of Mischief was concerned it would bend. "You were nervous your last coronation, and it did not shed very much luck on the situation." Thor eyed the trickster, who outwardly betrayed no amusement other than the twinkling in this green eyes.

"Yes, well, let us hope nothing unseemly will happen," Thor said, barely avoiding rolling his eyes at his brother. "Especially since my wedding is attached to this one."

"Speaking of which, your lovely bride was more collected for her testing than you are now. She faced the Unknown with more bravery than this. For shame." Thor indignantly put on his helmet staring at his brother with narrowed eyes.

"And I suppose _you_ were completely at ease when you married Darcy?" Thor said curtly, staring out over the balcony, surveying his city as they waited for the ceremony to begin.

"'Twas so long ago, brother, I can hardly remember," Loki replied, slipping on his own helmet.

"It was two years ago," Thor said, amusement finally distracting him from his nervousness. "And I remember no small amount of pacing from you. And _you_ two only had thirteen people and a few elves present. I have the whole of Asgard watching this."

"'Tis the burden of the throne, my soon-to-be liege," Loki said, no small amount of humor in his voice. "Us lowly princes and princesses have the luxury of eloping on Alfheim. If you wish to abdicate, I understand. We can cancel this public affair at once. Or perhaps we can save some time and I can simply take your place, and Darcy and I may renew our vows instead. You will then be free to elope away."

"Okay, children, break it up," they heard from the entrance, interrupting Thor's chuckle at Loki's comment. They both turned to see Darcy walking into their room, a serene smile on her face. Loki grinned as he watched his wife's deep blue gossamer gown flow behind her as she walked toward them, the soft material hanging gently from her incredibly round stomach. "Jane is already trying to wring the neck of her flowers. We have to have someone with a level head here." She automatically leaned up to give Loki a kiss on his cheek who received it naturally, taking the chance, as he often did for the fast few months, to place his hand on Darcy's stomach, which was quite swollen with their first child.

"That is what we have you for, darling," Loki said, placing a kiss to her forehead as she wrapped a thin arm around his waist.

"Honestly, I don't know what you all have to be worried about. _I'm_ the one who has to help her carry that monster of a dress down that aisle toting this dude or dudette," she said pointing at her stomach. "One thing that's universal in Midgard and Asgard is the love for big wedding dresses."

"Jane is going to be named the Queen of Asgard today, she cannot do anything subtle," Loki said. "I told you becoming the Princess of Asgard could have given you just as much of reason to be ostentatious." Darcy wrinkled her nose.

"Nah. Private wedding in a glade next to a waterfall in and Elven realm was much more out style, I think," she said, smiling up at Loki. "Plus, seeing Tony trying to get a couple of light elves to do shots with him at the banquet after walking me down the aisle was borderline, if not completely, priceless."

"In his metal contraption, no less," Loki added.

"You did tell him to leave the suit at home this time?" Thor questioned anxiously. Darcy smiled.

"He promised to be on his best behavior," she said. "But I did have to keep him from barging in to attempt to give you wedding night advice. By the way, if you are at all bashful, I wouldn't suggest opening the book he got you." Thor cast his sparkling blue eyes to the heavens, though he was considerably more at ease than moments before. The easy company of Darcy tended to do that, even when his brother was deliberately trying to provoke him. Darcy held up a hand, all fingers outstretched. "Five minutes, gentlemen. We'll see you out there." Thor and Loki stood straight, side by side, as she left, an amused grin on Darcy's face as she left the room, headed for the bride's chamber.

She heard her own footsteps echoing down the golden corridor, the hall almost strangely silent, considering a huge portion of the kingdom was in the Great Hall in that very palace. As she approached Jane's room, she heard another set of footsteps matching her own behind her. She turned to see Tony approaching, dressed in a finely cut suit, sunglasses indoors and all. She sighed, and placed her hands on her hip.

"Aren't you supposed to be with the _guests_," she asked.

"Whatever, I was getting bored," he said. "I forgot to show you something yesterday."

"Tony, we are seriously in the middle of a wedding here," Darcy huffed.

"You've got minute. It's a good luck present. You need luck today, too," he said, holding up a small red gift bag. Darcy perked up, eyes lit up with interests. She thought a moment, pursing her lips in mock contemplation.

"Well, okay," she said, slowing time around her as she snatched the bag from his hand before he tried to holding it out of her reach, as he tended to do. "Gimme."

"My life is unfair," he said, rolling his eyes. She smiled as she dug out the small garment. She held it out in front of her, examining the small onesie with the design of an Iron Man Suit on the front. She looked back at Tony, and amused smirk playing on her lips.

"What if it's a girl though?" she said, turning it around to lay it flat on her stomach.

"Then that's what this is for," he said pulling another onesie out of his coat. It was identical, except the gold and red was replace with pink and purple. Darcy let out a hearty laugh, folding them both up and putting them in the gift bag.

"Thanks, boss," she said. "I've gotta get going. We're ready, so you shouldn't be too bored for too long, okay."

"We'll see. I'm not sure if these Asgardians know how to party," he said, leaning forward to kiss her cheek and she in return. "Where's that Vostagg guy? He seemed like a good time." She smiled as Tony walked away, toward the Great Hall, she hoped.

Jane's private room was not too far from Thor's. Darcy smiled as she opened the door, finding Jane sitting at the vanity. Her friends eyes lit up as she turned to face her as she came in.

"The big guy is fine," Darcy said, coming to her side. "He's headed out now." Darcy took the opportunity to straighten out the soft, blonde curls and elegant veil covering them atop her friends head. Jane smiled, a strange quiet over here. "You okay?" Darcy asked. Jane smiled, her brown eyes sparkling over a wide smile.

"It's just... kind of surreal," she said. "I'm sure you know. Being a queen was just never in the picture. Now I'm," she paused. "Now I'm, fighting big monsters and getting married to a demi-god. How did you do it? You weren't this nervous." Darcy smiled, shrugging gently.

"Loki was unwound enough for the both of us," she laughed. " I don't know. We love each other and we match. There's not much more to it than that. The rest will just kind of deal with itself. You're going to be a queen today. _Someone_ has to fill that role. You're ridiculously smart, O Goddess of Science," Darcy said as Jane blushed at her Asgardian title. In all her finery, she reached out to hug Darcy, careful of her growing abdomen.

"And you are already having kids?" Jane said, trying to keep the emotion from bubbling up. "It's been six months, and I'm still having trouble you and _Loki_ are having a baby."

"Yup," Darcy said, patting her stomach. "A tiny frost giant or frost giantess, coming soon to a vagina near you." Jane laughed, the tension leaving her. "Well, hopefully not too giant. I'm still banking on Loki's weird genes to come through for me there. If I have to squeeze something the size of Mammoth out of here, I will be so not happy. Speaking of, you and Thor get to give Mammoth the Casket permanently and sign a peace with Jotunheim as your first act as King and Queen Bee, and then you'll get to see all the sciencey stuff on one more world. That's exciting, right?" Jane nodded, smiling.

"First things first though," Jane said. "I have a wedding to get to."

"They're waiting for you," Darcy said. "Wedding first. Science stuff later."

* * *

The End!

Wow. There you go guys. Thanks for sticking with me through the typos, I know that's the biggest problem with this story. Maybe when I have more time, I can try to make it better, but I'm ready to be done so I can move forward to original writing. Thank you so much for all of your kind words, reviews and support. I'm glad you enjoyed it, for those who did.

MJ


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